


The world is brighter than the sun now that you're here

by CamelotQueen



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Dad mode activated, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, Kid Peter Parker, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-10-31 22:19:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17858024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CamelotQueen/pseuds/CamelotQueen
Summary: New York is in ruins after the battle against Loki and the Chitauri. Tony's world has been tipped on it's axis and it's all he can do to stay sane by keeping himself busy with aiding in the cleanup.Which means it would be completely irresponsible to take in a little boy that he helped save when they can't locate his parents. He has no experience, no claim to him, and he's absolutely balls deep in the PR nightmare that is the newly formed Avengers. Not to mention, he can't stop having nightmares about alien invasions.So it would absolutely, positively, unquestionably a bad idea to take in a little kid... right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright YOLO let's post this fic

New York is in ruins, and it’s the Avenger’s fault. 

 

At least, that’s how a lot of news outlets are painting it. The catastrophe is over but the city is left in disarray, and someone has to be responsible for it. They need someone to clean it up, and they can’t very well ask the aliens to do it. 

 

The official city clean-up crew is understaffed and underpaid, and progress is slow. The novelty of having their lives saved by alien invasion and then nuclear fallout has vanished, and now the people of New York are frustrated by the lack of progress. 

 

Whole buildings were razed, and people are still trapped underneath, bodies are still being found. Search and rescue is doing their best but an entire borough has been leveled and there simply isn’t enough help. 

 

So Tony decides the Avengers will help. 

 

It’s a good PR move, from a practical standpoint. Their approval ratings are dipping the longer it takes for New York to get back on its feet. But also, it’s been days since the threat ended and Tony still can’t get rid of the buzz of adrenaline telling him to run, to fight, to move. 

 

So he figures he might as well keep his hands busy and himself helpful while the feeling persists. 

 

The Iron Man suit is a big help. It easily cuts through and lifts debris. He’s immediately put on search and rescue, along with most of the team. It’s fine by him—saving people is kind of his thing. But he quickly realizes that they’re mostly finding bodies, and not a whole lot of living people. After finding his fifth mangled body, he needs to take a break to get his breathing under control. 

 

He thought this would help him feel better, but finding body upon body that he didn’t save is turning out to make him feel worse. He is about ready to give up, to ask Pepper how detrimental it would be to his public opinion if he pulls out, when he gets called in again. This time, they found someone alive. 

 

This time, it’s a kid. 

 

Tony rushes back to the scene, ready to do whatever he needs to save him. To be useful. Workers are standing around the site looking dismayed and stressed. One of the female workers is crouched by a pile of rubble, sticking her hand through and talking quietly. He can hear crying. 

 

He walks up to the closest worker and gives him a questioning look. 

 

“She’s trying to calm him down,” he explains. “He’s been trapped under there for three days and he was running out of oxygen. We got a crack open where we can see him, but we need to get him out without spooking him even more.” 

 

Tony looks over at the direction of the woman. She’s reaching in as far as she can into the crack, she’s shoulder-deep, but it’s still not enough. He can still hear the crying. 

 

“Okay so what’s our play? Do you need me to just blast it open?” 

 

“Woah hey,” the man raises his hands. “Slow down. There’s a lot of rubble above him and we’re afraid if we try to start digging through to him, the whole thing will collapse.” 

 

“Okay, so what do you suggest we do? Wait ‘til we clear it all away before we pull him out?”

 

The man shakes his head. “That’ll take too long. We were thinking—well hoping…” 

 

He trails off and scratches his head. 

 

“Thinking what?” 

 

“It’s probably a stupid idea,” the man prefaces. “But this is a little kid we’re dealing with here, we wanna get him out as fast as possible. And that suit can do some pretty heavy lifting. We were hoping… maybe you could hold up the rubble directly above him while we clear a path for him so he can crawl out?” 

 

Tony chews the inside of his cheek. He looks back at the mountain of rubble. It looks heavy. 

 

“JARVIS?” he asked. “What do you think? Would I be able to hold that up?” 

 

“Statistically speaking, sir,” JARVIS responds. “Yes. But you’ll only be able to maintain it for a few minutes. The structural integrity of the cement block above him is also dubious. It has withstood a tremendous amount of stress over the past few days and moving it too much might cause it to crack.” 

 

Tony nods. “Okay… so. I lift it just enough for the kid to crawl out, then when he’s safe, I drop it. Good?” 

 

“Uh, do you really think it’ll work?” the man asks. 

 

Tony shrugs, walking away. “It better—it was your idea.” 

 

“Hey wait!” the man shouts after him. “That’s a little kid, don’t go gambling with his life!” 

 

“Everything is under control,” Tony waves him off. He approaches the woman. “Excuse me, ma’am.” 

 

She looks over at him like she just noticed he was there. 

 

“Are you gonna get him out of there?” she asks nervously. 

 

“Yep, Iron Man on the case.” 

 

“He’s really scared,” she explains. “You have to calm him down and tell him what to do.” 

 

“Uh,” Tony stalls. “Can you just do that?” 

 

“I’ve been trying to calm him down for the past hour,” she says. “Maybe seeing his favorite hero will help.” 

 

Tony doesn’t know how to respond to that, or how she got that information. Before he can think of what to say, she’s standing up and dusting off her pants. 

 

“Talk to him,” she says and steps aside. 

 

“Uh,” he says again and looks back at the onlookers before hesitantly getting down on his knees. He crouches awkwardly in the bulky Iron Man suit. 

 

He can see the kid through the small crack in the concrete. He’s dirty with tear and snot tracks streaking down his face and he has big brown watery eyes. His clothes are torn and his shoulders shake with hiccuping breaths. His hair is sticking up in every direction. 

 

“Hey, kid,” he starts awkwardly. “What’s your name?” 

 

The kid doesn’t respond, just continues sobbing and staring at him with wide eyes. 

 

“Okay,” he says. “Good chat. Listen… I’m gonna get you out of here, but we gotta be quick about this. I’m gonna lift this here slab of concrete and you gotta crawl out as fast as you can because I’m not sure how long it’s gonna hold up. So on the count of three, I’m gonna lift this and you’re gonna come out, okay?” 

 

The boy keeps crying and doesn’t look like he understood a word Tony said. Nothing is going to get through to him when he’s this stressed. Tony needs to think of an alternative, and fast. He thinks of what the woman said, about Iron Man being his favorite superhero. He flips the helmet of the suit back on and the kid’s sobbing stops. 

 

“Hey kid, it’s Iron Man here,” he preens a little over the kid’s gaping stare. “I want to help you but you gotta help me too, okay?” 

 

He waits for a response and after a second the kid nods. “Alright, great. We’re gonna be a team here. I’m gonna lift this and you gotta run as fast as you can, got it? As  _ fast as you can.  _ Channel your inner superhero, kid. I believe in you. Are you ready?” 

 

The kid nods again, stupefied, and Tony really hopes he was actually listening. 

 

“Okay, on the count of three,” he says and positions himself in a crouch under the slab. Rockets fire at the ready under his hands, arms, and the sides of his suit. Everyone behind him seems to be holding their breath, waiting to see if this ends in success or disaster. “One… two…  _ three.”  _

 

The last number comes out as a grunt as Tony hoists the slab over his head and  _ pushes.  _ The thing is fucking  _ heavy.  _ Even with his suit bearing most of the weight, his arms and legs shake with the effort of lifting it. His back screams at him and he hears himself groan with the effort. 

 

In his position, he loses sight of the kid and can’t tell if he got out or not. He hears the slab cracking and breaking. 

 

_ “Go, go, go!” _ he hears the people yelling behind him, screaming and gasping. 

 

He breaks under the weight and falls to his knees. The slab is breaking down. Dust and chunks of concrete are falling from above him and JARVIS warns him that if he doesn’t move soon, he’s going to be crushed under the rubble. 

 

But still, he stays until the screaming behind him turns to cheers of relief. He understands that as his cue and releases his load, firing himself backwards until he’s collapsing in the crowd and away from the pile of rocks and metal and concrete that used to be where he was standing. 

 

And the kid. 

 

He turns around. One of the volunteers is picking the kid up and hugging him close and the others gather around to do the same. Everyone is crying and laughing and hugging the boy who looks stupefied by all the attention, and probably also in shock. In the light, Tony can see how dirty he is, and he’s definitely malnourished. Three days without food and water and he’s probably only half aware of his surroundings. But everyone’s just so relieved, they’ve gotten so used to finding bodies, it feels like a miracle to find a child alive. It  _ is  _ a miracle. They all deserve this moment. 

 

Tony let’s himself smile a little bit… just a little. It feels good to save someone after all this. Despite everything, at least a little boy is still alive.

 

Before anything else can happen, medics rush up and peel the boy away from the crowd. There’s only slight resistance from the child, who’s already starting to lose consciousness now that he’s safe, then they have him on a stretcher on the ground, placing an oxygen mask over his face and sticking an IV in his arm. It’s a good thing he’s unconscious for that or else it might’ve freaked the kid out, but luckily—or perhaps concerningly—he doesn’t stir while they monitor his vitals. 

 

Tony watches in acute helplessness for a second before turning back to the volunteer that had been holding him. 

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” he says.

 

“Christine,” she responds, shaking his hand. “Christine Palmer.” 

 

“Nice to meet you, Miss Palmer,” Tony replies. “I’d introduce myself but… I think you know who I am.” 

 

Christine laughs politely. “Well… if I didn’t know before, I definitely do now.”

 

Tony shrugs. “Before I came, you were talking to the kid… did you get a name?”

 

Christine shakes her head solemnly. “No, unfortunately it was more like talking at him. He was so distressed he wasn’t responding at all, until you came. You finally managed to get a reaction out of him.” 

 

Tony doesn’t know how to respond to that. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?” 

 

Christine smiles. “Yeah, he’ll be fine. Shaken, but fine. I’m a doctor, so I know what I’m talking about. I’m usually on the med team, but…” she gestures to the EMTs currently taking care of the kid. “I switched to search and rescue for a while. They need more people doing this, it’s the job no one wants since… it’s hard to find people that can’t be saved.” 

 

Tony is reminded of all the bodies he’s seen over the past couple of days. Twisted, blank faces and people so destroyed they’re unrecognizable. For a second he’s lost in the carnage.

 

“Yeah, well,” he shakes his head. “It’s worth it for this.” He looks back to the boy that’s being carted into the ambulance. 

 

Christine’s face softens. “Yeah, thank god for one success today. It’s a miracle he survived being trapped under there for three days. I just hope they find his parents.” 

 

Tony turns back to her in horror. He hadn’t thought about that. “Wait… what’s going to happen to him?” 

 

Christine’s expression pinches. “Once the medics are done with him, he’ll be handed over to volunteer social workers. There’s a bunch of unclaimed kids, we still have to figure out what happened to their parents.” 

 

Tony’s stomach drops. “What are we doing to relocate their parents?” he asks. 

 

Christine sighs. “Honestly, it’s kind of difficult. If they’re too young to talk, we can’t even get a name or an age out of them. We take their picture, try to post it around, hope someone comes forward.” 

 

Tony looks back to the kid in the ambulance. “And what if no one does?” 

 

Christine is looking at the boy too. He expects what she says next, but he doesn’t want to hear it. 

 

“He’ll probably end up in the foster system.”

 

—

 

Hours later, Tony is sitting in a hospital waiting room when Rhodey finds him. 

 

“Hey man, what’s going on? I was just called in to ‘talk some sense into you.’ What does that mean?” 

 

Tony looks up at him. He should’ve known the Avengers would call him in after he told them his plans. 

 

“I’m going to become a temporary guardian,” he admits. 

 

Rhodey blinks at him. 

 

“I’m sorry, come again?” 

 

Tony sighs. “Why does no one have any faith in me?” He gets up and begins pacing. “It’s simple. I helped rescue this little kid today. He’s real young, and he was trapped for days and somehow still miraculously alive. They don’t know where his parents are. They’re just gonna ship him off to foster care until they locate his parents, which might be never. We don’t even know if he can  _ talk  _ yet. So far, he hasn’t said a word… granted, he’s been unconscious for most of that time. But even if he  _ can  _ talk he probably doesn’t know where his parents are. And with half of New York in the shitter, it could take a hell of a lot of time before they find them. So until  _ then,  _ instead of letting this kid waste away in underfunded and overcrowded foster care, I figured, hell, why don’t I take him in? I had to talk to some people, but I got it sorted out, and  _ apparently  _ none of my friends approve since they brought you in to talk me out of it—”

 

“Tony, calm down,” Rhodey interrupts. 

 

Tony takes a breath and glares up at him. 

 

“Where did all of this come about?” Rhodey asks. “All of a sudden you want to take on the responsibility of a  _ kid? _ I’m sorry, this just isn’t adding up.” 

 

Tony sighs and slumps back into his seat. All of the fight drains out of him and he suddenly feels very tired. Rhodey senses the change in demeanor and sits next to him, staring at him worriedly. 

 

“Rhodes, so much has happened this week,” Tony starts, staring at the floor. “So much that I can’t explain. Or control. And we saved the day, hooray. But for how long? There’s still… things out there that we can’t explain, and what if they come back? And pardon me if this doesn’t feel like a win when there are thousands of casualties, New York is in ruins, hundreds of kids are suddenly in foster care with no idea how to find their parents again—”

 

“Tony, you’re going on a tangent again,” Rhodey warns, putting a hand on his friends shoulder. 

 

Tony sighs and covers his eyes. “It’s just… there’s so much that I can’t control right now. So many people that I can’t save. But this? I can do something about this… this kid. He’s still alive, somehow. Trust me, it’s no small feat… we’ve pulled bodies of people five times his age and weight out of rubble, and somehow he’s miraculously alive with just a few bumps and scrapes. It just… it feels like a sign. Maybe some small hope, I don’t know. What I do know is I can’t just hand him off to foster care after he’s already been through so much. There’s so many people I can’t help right now, but I can help him.” 

 

Rhodey furrows his eyebrows in concern for his friend. “You do know there are a lot of other kids right now that need just as much help as him, you know? Helping one isn’t going to make everything better.” 

 

“Then I’ll donate money to the services currently taking care of them,” Tony snaps. “I’ll funnel money into every god damn charity that’s helping with relief for New York, but this one… this kid is different. I  _ need _ to make sure he’s safe.” 

 

“Are you sure you’re not latching onto him as a coping mechanism?” Rhodey asks.

 

Tony scrunches his nose. “What the hell are you, a psychiatrist? I’m fine, Rhodey.” 

 

“I’m just saying, you seem pretty messed up after this and taking in a kid right now might not be—”

 

“I really don’t need a lecture right now,” Tony stands. “I was cleared, so what’s the problem? He’s coming with me.” 

 

Rhodey sighs and hangs his head. “If you’re really sure about this, I won’t stop you. But I wanna help you. Something tells me you’re ill-equipped to handle parenting.” 

 

Tony scoffs. “I’m not gonna be alone. I have Pepper.” 

 

“Have you told her about your plan?” 

 

Tony shuffles his feet. 

 

“I don’t think she’s gonna be very happy about this, Tones.” 

 

“Yeah, well… when is she ever happy with my decisions?” 

 

—

 

The next day, the kid is cleared and Tony is bringing him back to his mansion. Not the one in Malibu, but one in New York that he rarely visits. Usually when he stays in New York, he occupies the penthouse suite in the tower, but considering that’s currently under extensive renovations, he takes to dusting out the cobwebs of the place he long ago occupied when his parents were still alive. 

 

The kid is still silent. He’s yet to utter a word and the nurses say it’s because of the trauma. Tony still doesn’t have a name for him, so he’s been getting creative. 

 

“Okay, squirt,” he says, letting the kid down. “This is where you’re gonna live for a while. Feel free to look around.” 

 

The kid stares wide eyed at his surroundings but doesn’t make a move. His fists are bunched up in his t-shirt and he perpetually looks five seconds away from crying. Considering he’d just spent the past four days trapped under a building alone and then at a hospital, Tony can’t say he blames him. 

 

Still, the silence is unnerving. Tony had mentally prepared himself for lots of crying, maybe some temper tantrums… but not this. The child psychologists said to give him time, but Tony has no experience with kids and doesn’t know how much time is enough. 

 

Maybe he shouldn’t have taken in a kid with no experience. 

 

“You want some food?” Tony asks. “I have some snacks… do you like chips? Or cereal?” 

 

The kid blinks at him blankly. 

 

“Okay…” Tony rubs the back of his neck and goes to the pantry, which was stocked before he arrived. He grabs some Cheerios. “Here you go, kid.”

 

The kid stares at the box, then back at him. Tony keeps it outstretched invitingly, and eventually the kid hesitantly takes it. Tony watches as he inspects the top of the box, plucks at the sealed edges for a moment, then hands it back. 

 

“Not hungry?” Tony asks. He goes to put it back but the kid grabs his arm and reaches for the box again. Tony tries handing it back but the kid looks distressed. He plucks at the top of the box again. 

 

It clicks in Tony’s head. “Can’t open the box, short stuff?” he asks, taking the box and ripping open the top. The kid is satisfied once it’s opened and grabs it from him, stuffing his chubby hand inside and pulling out a handful of Cheerios to munch on. 

 

“I bet you’re hungry, buddy. That hospital stuff must not have filled you. I got you.” 

 

He goes back to the pantry to see what else he can give to the kid when he hears the door open and the distinct sound of heels angrily clicking across the tiled floor. 

 

He braces himself and turns around to see Pepper entering the room with rage in her expression. She takes a second to look down at the boy obliviously munching on Cheerios on the floor and then back at Tony with narrow eyes. He flinches at her glare. 

 

“Hey, Pep. I assume you heard the news.” 

 

“What were you  _ thinking?” _ she hisses and the kid finally looks up at the tone of her voice.

 

“Uhh, maybe we should take this elsewhere. Kid, stay right here, we’ll be right back. JARVIS, keep an eye on him.” 

 

“Right, sir,” JARVIS replies. 

 

Tony gently grabs Pepper by the elbow and leads her into the next room. She sputters after him but allows herself to be dragged and doesn’t say anything until the door is shut behind her. 

 

“A  _ kid?” _ she yell-whispers as soon as they’re hidden. “Are you  _ serious? _ Why the hell are you taking in this random kid?” 

 

“Because I rescued him in New York and he’s one of the only living people I’ve been able to uncover in the past couple of days, and he’s completely alone. He needs someone, Pep. At least until we find his parents.” 

 

“And that has to be you?” 

 

Tony shrugs. “It was either me or the disastrously under-funded and under-equipped foster system that New York is dealing with right now.” 

 

Pepper squints at him. “But he is by far not the only kid missing his parents right now. And didn’t you just pour millions into the foster systems resources to help relocate kids’ parents?” 

 

“Well I couldn’t just leave all those kids either,” Tony reasons. “But this kid… he’s special.” 

 

_ “Special? _ How is he special?” 

 

Tony groans. “I already explained it. I found him under rubble! He was so scared… he needed me.” 

 

“What he  _ needs _ is to be reunited with his parents.” 

 

“And we’re working on that!” Tony defends. “But in the meantime… I’m keeping an eye on him.” 

 

Pepper closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry… I’m just not following. Explain to me why you decided it was a good idea to take in a kid when you have  _ no _ experience, New York is in  _ ruins, _ and the Avengers and Stark Industries have your time split down the middle. This just doesn’t make sense, Tony!”

 

“I know it doesn’t make sense!” Tony snaps. “It doesn’t make sense to me either, okay? But… listen. Last week, things were different. Last week New York was in one piece, I wasn’t worrying about aliens or giant wormholes in the sky leading to certain death or how many dead bodies I was gonna uncover today that  _ I couldn’t save.  _ But this kid… I saved him. I could do that much. So I’m  _ sorry  _ if I just need a little reminder that I can do  _ something,  _ alright?” 

 

Pepper’s eyes soften. “You’re doing  _ so much,  _ Tony. You know that, right?” 

 

Tony scoffs. “I know. But it’s all a little too late, isn’t it? These people… I can’t bring them back. I can’t go back in time and stop the aliens from coming or stop the government from trying to nuke the city. But this kid… I looked at him and… I don’t know. I just feel like I have to do this.” 

 

Pepper rubs his arms consolingly. “You know he can’t be one of your projects, right? He’s a living thing, not a robot. You shouldn’t use a kid as a distraction.” 

 

Tony drops his head to rest on her shoulder. “I know. I promise I won’t neglect him or… throw him away when I get bored. But please… let me watch over him for now. And maybe… help me, because fuck if I know what I’m doing.”

 

Pepper snorts. “I know you don’t know what you’re doing, that’s why I was so worried.” 

 

Tony lifts his head back up and looks her in the eye. “So you’ll let me keep him?” 

 

Pepper raises her brow. “You sound like you’re talking about a dog… but yes. I’ll let you keep him. Temporarily. Until they find his parents.” 

 

“Of course,” Tony agrees. “That’s all I’m asking. I’m just like… a temp nanny. A few days, a week tops. I just want to personally see to it that he gets back home safely.”

 

Pepper looks at him critically, but finally relents and sighs. “Okay. I guess we’re doing this.” 

 

He smiles at her. “Oh, we’re doing this.” 

 

They share a kiss and then walk back into the kitchen. The kid is sitting on the floor, still stuffing Cheerios into his mouth. 

 

“You done with those, bud?” Tony asks, gently taking the box back. The kid offers no resistance, so Tony assumes he’s not hungry anymore. He places the box back into the pantry and picks him up. “Kid, this is Pepper. She’s very nice and she’ll be helping me take care of you. Pepper, this is… honestly, we’re still working on that. One of the reasons why this kid isn’t able to be placed yet is that he’s very unforthcoming with his name. We don’t really have a lot to go on to identify him.” 

 

Pepper smiles at him reassuringly. “Hey little guy… can you tell me your name?” 

 

The kid just blinks at her with wide eyes and doesn’t seem to have understood her. She looks up at Tony. “Are we sure he even knows English?” 

 

Tony honestly hadn’t really thought of that. His returning look to Pepper says as much. She rolls her eyes at him at looks back at the kid. 

 

“Can you tell me how old you are?”

 

The kid hesitantly raises his hand and holds up three fingers. 

 

“Three!” Pepper exclaims. “That’s wonderful! You’re such a big boy.” 

 

That earns a tentative smile from the kid. He bashfully stuffs his fingers into his mouth and hides his face into Tony’s shoulder. 

 

Pepper smiles despite herself. “I guess that answers that question.” 

 

“Pep, you’re a genius,” Tony smiles back. “Looks like he just doesn’t want to be verbal right now… or can’t? Can three year olds talk?” 

 

“Yes, three year olds can talk, Tony,” Pepper says. “Honestly, you’re not making me feel better about letting you take in a kid for a week.” 

 

“A week  _ tops,”  _ he reminds her. 

 

“Well, if he won’t tell you his name it’s going to be longer. It’s going to be really hard to place him without a name.” 

 

“I know,” Tony subconsciously starts bouncing to soothe the kid when he starts making whiny sounds. “But we’ll get it out of him, promise. He just needs some time.” 

 

Pepper looks sympathetically at the small child in Tony’s arms getting more and more distressed. “I think he needs a nap,” she says. “He seems tired.” 

 

“Is he?” Tony peeks down at him where his face is still stuffed into his shoulder. “How can you tell? How often do kids need to sleep?” 

 

“Oh my god,” Pepper covers her eyes with her hand. “It’s like I have two children to deal with now. Come on, let’s get him down and I’ll try to explain some basics to you. You don’t happen to have a crib, do you?” 

 

“No…” Tony replies sheepishly. “But I  _ do  _ have a California King bed and it would be  _ really  _ hard to roll off that.” 

 

Pepper rolls her eyes. “Good enough.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper walks out the door, leaving Tony alone in the house with a three year old. 
> 
> But it’s fine, he’ll be fine. How hard is it to put a kid to bed?
> 
> Very, apparently.

Pepper and Tony go online shopping for all the essentials while the kid is sleeping. They also splurge a bit on toys. Once they’re done, Pepper rummages Tony’s cabinets for dinner.

 

“Seriously? Do have _anything_ a kid would enjoy eating?”

 

“Can he not just eat Cheerios again?” Tony asks. “He liked those earlier.”

 

Pepper rolls her eyes. “Grilled cheese it is.”

 

She pulls out bread from the pantry and heads over to the stove.

 

“Remind me to go shopping for kid-friendly meals,” she says. “Go wake him up, I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

 

Tony takes a moment to appreciate the domesticity of watching his girlfriend cook while asking him to go wake up the kid before he shakes his head and does as he’s told. It’s dangerous to think that way, especially since the kid isn’t even theirs.

 

The smell of melting cheese must have woken the kid up because when Tony opens the door, he’s sitting up in the bed and staring at him with wide eyes.

 

“Ready for dinner?” Tony asks. “I’ve got Pepper cooking up something for you.”

 

The kid raises his arms in response and Tony hooks his hands under his armpits and pulls him out of the bed. He sets him on his hip and the kid settles immediately, wrapping his little arms around Tony’s neck and nestling his head into the crook of his shoulder. He still seems tired, he’s had a stressful day in a new environment. But he must be hungry, so Tony walks him back downstairs where Pepper is setting the finished sandwiches on plates.

 

“Did you make one for me too?” Tony jokes.

 

“Well God knows you wouldn’t have eaten anything if I hadn’t,” Pepper responds straight-faced. She knows him too well.

 

Tony plops the kid at the table and Pepper sets the plate in front of him. “Do you like milk, sweetie?”

 

He nods slowly, so she smiles and turns back to the refrigerator to get him a glass. Tony sits next to him with his own sandwich, feeling a little silly sharing a dinner with a three year old.

 

Pepper comes back with a glass of milk for the kid and a water for Tony. She sits across from them and turns to Tony. “He seems to respond well to yes or no questions. Hopefully that’s an improvement.”

 

“Hopefully,” Tony agrees. “How else am I supposed to know what he wants unless he asks?”

 

The kid picks up half of the grilled cheese and picks at it. He takes a tentative bite.

 

“Is it good?” Pepper asks. “Do you like it?”

 

The kid nods and takes another bite. Tony follows suit and picks up his own sandwich.

 

“So, can we put him back to bed after this?” he asks Pepper. She looks offended.

 

“Tony, it’s 5 PM.”

 

“Yeah, and? Don’t kids need lots of sleep?”

 

“We’ll put him to bed at 7:30.”

 

“What are we supposed to do with him until then?”

 

“I don’t know, Tony,” Pepper sounds exasperated. “All the stuff we ordered isn’t coming in until tomorrow, you’re the one who decided to impulsively _obtain temporary guardianship of a three year old._ Figure it out.”

 

“Okay yikes,” Tony sniffs. “No need to get worked up. There’s gotta be something around here that’ll entertain him. TV?”

 

“Why don’t you let him draw?” Pepper suggests. “You have paper and markers, don’t you?”

 

Tony tilts his head. “True…”

 

The kid perks up at the conversation.

 

“Does that sound good?” Tony asks. “Do you want to draw?”

 

He nods, stuffing another bite of the sandwich into his mouth.

 

“I’ll look for paper and markers,” Pepper says, and stands up to leave.

 

Tony is left alone with the kid and doesn’t know what to do, so he continues to awkwardly eat his sandwich while the kid munches happily on his. Not for the first time, Tony thinks about how over his head he is. He has no idea what he’s doing, but he feels like he has to do this. Besides, the kid is well-mannered enough, how hard can it be?

 

Pepper returns with a few pieces of printer paper and a handful of markers right as the kid is finishing his sandwich up. Tony takes the plates to the sink while Pepper sets up a little drawing station for him. She pulls out a tablecloth from god knows where and places it over the table, then puts the paper and markers in front of the kid.

 

“Alright, buddy, know what you wanna draw?” she asks.

 

He stares up at her shyly and doesn’t respond. He has a marker in his little fist but seems reticent to use it.

 

“I’ll draw something too,” she says and sits down next to him, grabbing her own piece of paper. “And so will Tony.”

 

“I will?” asks Tony.

 

“Yes, he will,” Pepper replies, more sternly.

 

Tony takes that as his cue to sit down and not complain, so he does. He grabs his own piece of paper and stares at it hesitantly. But the kid is watching the both of them curiously, like he’s waiting for them to start first, so Tony grabs a red marker and gets to work. So does Pepper. He tries to look like he’s absorbed in his rendition of a badly drawn car when he watches the kid reach for more markers out of the corner of his eye and start to draw as well. Their method is working, and he can see Pepper quirk a stealthy smile from across the table. He peeks over at her paper to see that she’s drawing flowers.

 

They all draw in awkward but pleasant silence for a few more minutes before Tony gets bored. He puts down his marker with a huff and looks over at the kid.

 

“What’re you drawing, kid?” he asks, leaning over him to get a better look.

 

And is immediately caught off guard when he sees him putting the finishing touches on a rather stylized version of Iron Man flying through the sky.

 

“Is that…” Tony blinks. “Iron Man?”

 

The kid just nods, finishing coloring in the sky behind him. He’s unaware of the shock Tony is in, and Pepper watches him with a soft look in her eye. Sure, he’s been mailed drawings from kids before, but it’s somehow different to watch it happening by a kid that he personally helped save.

 

 _And also personally put in danger,_ his mind supplies.

 

Tony watches him draw with a growing sense of fondness. This kid has witnessed incredible trauma in his young age, and here he is innocently drawing the hero that saved him.

 

Then the kid starts writing. He spells out P-E-T-E-R.

 

_Wait._

 

“Peter?” The kid looks up at Tony innocently. “Is that your name?”

 

The kid looks back down at the paper as if surprised Tony was able to deduce that from it. Then he looks back up and nods.

 

Tony laughs in disbelief. The kid told him his name. Perhaps indirectly, but he knows it just the same. He’s not “the kid” anymore. He’s Peter.

 

“Peter,” Tony says again, just because he can.

 

“Peter,” Pepper repeats, and Tony looks up at her to see her just as excited as he is.

 

It’s a little win, but it feels like a giant step.

 

—

 

Bedtime rolls around, and Tony doesn’t exactly have any children’s books on hand, so he lets Peter watch an episode of some kid’s show he found on his StarkPad.

 

“I think I should head out,” Pepper says once Peter’s thoroughly distracted by his cartoon.

 

“Wait, what?” Tony panics. “No, stay! What am I supposed to do?”

 

“You’re the one that signed up for this, you should know.” Pepper makes her way down the hallway and towards the front door, Tony frantically trailing behind her.

 

“But aren’t we going to co-parent? You know, play house for a bit? It could be fun! C’mon, Pep, our baby needs you.”

 

Pepper pretends to stop and think. “Hmm… I think he’s only twelve percent of my baby.”

 

“... Okay, I had that coming and I deserved that. But this is a _real_ baby!”

 

“And you’re a real adult, even though you don’t always act like it,” Pepper retorts. “And you volunteered for this, not me. So if you don’t mind, I’m going back to my own place and sleeping in my own bed, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay?”

 

Tony slumps. He knows he’s not going to win this one. “Okay, but if anything crazy happens I _will_ call you until you wake up.”

 

Pepper rolls her eyes fondly. “Nothing crazy is going to happen. Now go back in there, tuck him in, and say goodnight.”

 

“Alright,” Tony relents. “Goodnight.”

 

They kiss goodbye and Pepper walks out the door, leaving Tony alone in the house with a three year old.

 

But it’s fine, he’ll be fine. How hard is it to put a kid to bed?

 

 _Very,_ apparently.

 

When the TV show is over, Peter looks very tired. He’s already tucked into bed and Pepper had helped him brush his teeth and gave him a bath before she left, so he should be all set for the night. Tony gently pulls the StarkPad away from his little hands.

 

“Okay, Pete. Bedtime. I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

That seems to be not the right thing to say. Peter looks up at him in worry.

 

“Do you want me to keep your door open? I can leave the light in the hallway on.” Pepper had told him that kids can be scared of the dark.

 

Peter still doesn’t respond, which isn’t surprising, so Tony just takes it as an affirmative. He switches off the light and leaves the door open to the lit hallway.

 

“Sweet dreams, squirt.”

 

Peter still looks nervous, but he isn’t using his words so Tony has no idea what is going on in his mind. But he seems tired, so he will probably just fall asleep soon.

 

Tony goes back to the kitchen to clean up the dishes from dinner and the various drawing supplies that was left on the table. Tomorrow, the toys and new clothes should arrive and Peter will no longer have to wear one of Tony’s old t-shirts to bed. He looks forward to getting all of it so he no longer feels like he’s struggling to entertain the kid. And it’ll hopefully make him feel more prepared to handle this job.

 

Until then, he’s happy to relax and do his own thing for the rest of the night. Watch TV, or maybe go down to the lab and tinker for a bit.

 

Before he can make up his mind though, he hears the patter of little feet on the hardwood.

 

He turns around to see Peter standing at the doorway, staring at him, big globs of tears in his eyes.

 

_Oh no._

 

“Pete, what’s wrong?”

 

The kid whimpers pathetically, and Tony should feel bad, but all he can feel is gut-wrenching panic. _Please don’t cry. I don’t know what to do if you start crying._

 

“Kid, you’re okay. Go back to bed.”

 

“Where’s mama?”

 

Tony freezes. This is the first time Peter has spoken since he found him.

 

“I want mama,” Peter insists on a shaky breath when he doesn’t respond.

 

Tony shakes off the surprise of hearing Peter speak and focuses. “Your mommy isn’t here right now. I’m here though, what do you need?”

 

“No!” Peter shrieks. “I want mama!”

 

Tony’s panic doubles. “Your mommy isn’t here! We’re looking for her so you can get back to her soon, but until then, I’m here.”

 

 _“Mama,”_ Peter wails, dragging out the word, and he’s full blown crying now. His face is red, tears flow down his cheeks, and he’s sobbing loudly.

 

Tony dives forward and picks him up. “Shh, don’t cry, don’t cry.”

 

 _“Mama, mama,”_ he keeps repeating.

 

Tony bounces him desperately, hoping to soothe him. The cries don’t die down at all, and he has the sudden irrational urge to drive back to the foster care office and drop him off. No one would judge him, right? This is already going above and beyond the line of duty, so they wouldn’t think less of him. Rampaging aliens and all powerful gods are one thing, screaming toddlers are another.

 

But he squashes the thought as soon as it comes. No, this was _his_ decision. He knew crying was part of the package of children, he just has to deal with it and find a way to soothe him. He doesn’t want Pepper and Rhodey to be right.

 

Perhaps it’s the spite that mostly motivates him to keep the kid through the night, but he also can’t forget the deep, unmitigated helplessness he felt walking around New York and facing the destruction he wasn’t able to prevent. Maybe comforting a crying child won’t reverse all the deaths, but it sure helps to ease his conscious and distract him.

 

So he continues to bounce Peter, shushing him and rubbing his back. The kid sure went from completely silent to absolutely ear-shatteringly loud in a short amount of time. Did he do this at the foster home? If he did, no one told him.

 

After about an hour of sobbing and wailing, the kid hasn’t seemed to calm down at _all_ and Tony is at his wit’s end.

 

“Okay, _fine!”_ he snaps, mostly out of exhaustion. He puts the kid down and his sobbing dies down a little as Peter watches him in confusion. “You don’t want to sleep? Don’t sleep. Stay up all night if I care, but stop your god damn crying. What do you want? Are you hungry? If I take you to the lab with me, will you be quiet?”

 

Peter blinks up at him and sniffs. He seems shocked by Tony’s sudden outburst, and he immediately feels guilty.

 

“Listen, kid,” he rubs at his face and crouches to his level. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. But your mom… we’re doing our best to get you back to her. But for now, you’re staying with me. And if you don’t like that, fine, I’ll take you back to the social workers, but between you and me, I think you’d rather stay here, okay?”

 

Peter continues to stare at him like he didn’t understand what he said. Tony lets out a deep sigh.

 

“So... do you want to come to the lab with me or not?”

 

The kid suddenly seems to understand English again, because he gives a small nod.

 

“Can I see Iron Man?” he asks quietly.

 

“Only if you’re good,” Tony responds and picks the kid back up. This is probably a bad idea, and he’ll probably get an earful from Pepper later, but god damn it if he has to listen to the kid screaming any longer, he’s going to lose his mind.

 

He brings the kid into the lab and places him down on one of the cleaner counters. Peter looks around like it’s Christmas and takes it all in with his big eyes, not saying a word as Tony putters around and turns on his equipment.

 

“Good evening, sir,” JARVIS greets, and Peter jumps in surprise. He looks around and tries to find the source of the sound.

 

“Was that Iron Man?” he asks.

 

“No, it was JARVIS. JARVIS, Peter. Peter, JARVIS. I believe I forgot to introduce you in all the… craziness. He’s my AI helper.”

 

“He’s a robot?” Peter asks.

 

“Not exactly… more like he’s a complex algorithm that can mimic the processes of the human mind. But he doesn’t have a body.”

 

“Then where is he?”

 

Tony distractedly points all around himself while he digs for tools.

 

Peter gapes. “In the _walls?”_

 

“No,” Tony corrects. “Just all around. He has sensors.”

 

Peter looks around again like he doesn’t get it, but he doesn’t say anything. After a few seconds of silence he goes back to watching Tony as he rummages around.

 

“Are you building Iron Man?”

 

“No, I’m just making modifications to a suit tonight.”

 

“What does _modifications_ mean?”

 

“It means I’m making it better.”

 

“Better how?”

 

Tony throws down his screwdriver. “Do you always ask this many questions?”

 

Peter doesn’t respond.

 

“First I couldn’t get you to talk, now I can’t get you to shut up,” Tony jokes, but he knows this is infinitely better than the silence. “You wanna see something cool?”

 

“Yeah,” Peter smiles shyly.

 

“Alright,” Tony walks over, hands clasped. Peter stares at them curiously. When he opens them, a little drone whizzes out and flies close to Peter’s face.

 

“Woah,” Peter whispers.

 

“Do you like it?” Tony asks. “It’s a small scale prototype.”

 

“Is this part of Iron Man?” Peter asks, poking the gizmo.

 

Tony shrugs. “It could be. Sometimes I make things and I don’t know what they could be used for until later. This little guy could could aid in search and rescue, fit in small places people can’t. Or he could find problems in machinery without breaking it apart. Or it could—”

 

“Is that how you found me?” Peter asks.

 

“What?”

 

“Did you use a pro… pro tip?”

 

“This prototype? No… but that’s actually a good idea. JARVIS, write that down. I’ll work on a few more of these bad boys and loan them to the city to help with the remainder of the search.”

 

Peter smiles and Tony can’t help but smile back.

 

“You’re pretty smart for your age, aren’t you?”

 

“Mama says I have a big brain.”

 

“Do you now?” Tony smirks. “Mind if I test it out?”

 

—

 

Pepper walks into the lab, her heels clicking furiously.

 

_“Tony!”_

 

Tony wakes with a start, tools clattering to the floor. “What happened?”

 

“Where’s Peter!?”

 

Tony panics for a second until he looks to his right and sees the kid snoozing peacefully on the lab table next to a disassembled computer.

 

“Oh man, Pep, you should have seen it! The kid’s a genius. He’s three and he can already figure out how to disassemble a circuit board. Still working on the putting it back together part but… he was really getting the hang of it! He has a real knack for understanding technology. He—"

 

“Did you keep him up _all night_ to be your little… lab rat!?” Pepper interrupts angrily.

 

“Hey, that’s an unfair accusation. The kid would _not_ sleep. He kept crying, so I brought him down here, and…”

 

“And kept him up all night then let him fall asleep on a _table?”_

 

Tony looks back at the still sleeping kid, then back at Pepper. “Uhh…”

 

Pepper rolls her eyes and brushes past him, approaching Peter and rubbing his back slowly.

 

“Good morning, Peter,” she coos and the kid wakes slowly, rubbing his eyes. “You must be uncomfortable sleeping like that… do you want to get in a bed?”

 

Peter nods sleepily and Pepper picks him up, cradling him on her hip. She glares at Tony before heading out of the lab. Tony’s left there feeling sheepish and embarrassed. Surely she would have done the same thing if she was him, right? Probably not. She probably would’ve known how to get a crying child to fall back asleep… but he at least got him to stop crying, and that had to count for something, right?

 

Pepper comes back down the stairs a few minutes later, still wearing her signature glare.

 

“In my defense, I was left to my own devices,” Tony says automatically.

 

“ _You_ were the one who said you could handle this.”

 

“And I can! God, what do you want from me? He’s alive, he’s not traumatized, he _slept.”_

 

“You can’t give yourself a pat on the back for doing the _bare minimum!”_

 

“Hey, I don’t think I did that bad!”

 

Pepper buries her face in her hand. “You should give him back to the social workers, Tony. The people who are _equipped_ to handle him.”

 

“You don’t need a degree to watch a kid! Parents are never trained for this, and people pop them out like they’re free candy! Hell, people trust _teenagers_ to watch their kids when they’re gone! Why are you so pressed about this?”

 

“I just don’t think this is the best way to be handling this situation.”

 

“What situation?”

 

“Oh, I don’t know, Tony… aliens just attacked New York a week ago. You almost _died._ You’re not sleeping, don’t think I haven’t noticed. And you’ve made this impulse decision to babysit a random kid you found off the street because... _why?_ There are _hundreds_ of displaced kids right now. Why this one?”

 

“Because I saved him! Out of all the people out there I dug out of rubble, mostly dead people by the way, he was the only one that _needed_ me. He’s helpless on his own.”

 

“He doesn’t need _you,_ Tony.”

 

“Well he needs someone! And I need someone to need me right now, too.”

 

Pepper steps back, shocked.

 

“I…” Tony swallows. “The only reason we were able to calm him down is because Iron Man was there. He looked at me like… like I was a hero. And I haven’t felt like a hero, not since… nothing makes sense anymore, Pep. I thought I understood what I was up against, but I don’t. That up there? I don’t stand a chance against that. So suddenly… I don’t feel quite like a hero anymore. But that kid still thinks of me as one, and I might not be able to save the world from ending if those things come back, but I can _babysit_ a _kid_ so stop telling me that I can’t.”

 

“I don’t mean to say you’re incapable,” Pepper murmurs softly. “I just mean that you’re in over your head. You’ve just dealt with a lot recently, and I know you’re not sleeping. You need to take care of yourself first before handling a kid.”

 

“It’s just… whenever I close my eyes, I see an endless black hole sucking me into space and giant space worms killing everyone I love. And I can’t deal with that right now, and Peter distracts me. Keeps me focused on the now.”

 

“What are you gonna do when he goes back to his parents?” Pepper asks.

 

Tony sucks in a breath. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

 

“Sir,” JARVIS interrupts. “Peter has awoken and he has informed me that he is hungry.”

 

Tony and Pepper share a look.

 

“Well, I suppose I should get on that,” Tony says.

 

“Take care of yourself, Tony,” Pepper responds solemnly.

 

Tony thinks of how he spent the whole night with the kid talking science that he probably only half understood, and he didn’t think about aliens or space even once the whole time.

 

“I am.”

 

—

 

The toys and clothes arrive to the tower that morning, and Tony can finally dress Peter in something that isn’t an oversized t-shirt that fits him like a dress. Once he gets Peter into a t-shirt his size and some tiny jeans, he shows him some of the playthings he got for him.

 

The kid is especially interested in anything buildable—LEGO’s, blocks, puzzles—and as soon as they’re unpackaged he’s spreading them out on the floor to build a giant LEGO city.

 

“Happy has been asking what’s going on with you,” Pepper says casually while making some tea.

 

“Well, what did you say?” Tony asks from where he’s watching the kid methodically connect blocks.

 

“I said you’ve lost your mind and took in a kid,” Pepper shrugs.

 

“Fair,” Tony watches as she walks back into the living room and sets down a mug for him, sipping at her own. “How’s city reconstruction going?”

 

“A lot smoother now that the Avengers aided in search and rescue,” Pepper smiles. “And with all the money and resources Stark Industries poured into Damage Control.”

 

“Good,” Tony replies. “Any luck relocating lost children?”

 

“Most kids have been reunited with their lost guardians by now, with the exception of those deceased, in which case they’ve been given to next of kin, or in worst cases… the foster care system.”

 

Tony grimaces. Displaced children are among the most horrifying byproducts of war, one that he never wanted to see happen in his own city.

 

“They’re still having trouble with the ones too young to talk or accurately describe their parents. If they don’t have names or phone numbers to go by, they’ve been posting missing child info on every platform they can, hoping people will come forward. Peter is also on there…”

 

Tony looks up at her. “Any luck locating his parents?”

 

Pepper shakes her head. “None so far. It’ll be helpful if you inform the social workers that he’s revealed his name and age. It’ll help with the filtering process.”

 

“Alright, got it,” Tony nods, making a mental note to call them.

 

At that moment, the elevator dings and both of them turn to see it open to Rhodey.

 

“When were you planning on inviting me to meet the kid?” he asks casually as he saunters in.

 

“Um, JARVIS, security breach,” Tony proclaims.

 

“Shut up, you’re the one that gave me VIP access,” Rhodey rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling.

 

“Cursing in front of the kid, another strike.”

 

Rhodey ignores him and kneels in front of Peter, who has stopped building to stare at him cautiously. “Hey buddy. I’m Rhodey, I’m Tony’s friend. What’s your name?”

 

When Peter doesn’t reply, Tony cuts in. “Uh, yeah. He’s a little shy. Doesn’t give information about himself freely.”

 

“That’s okay,” Rhodey shakes it off. “What are you building? Can I help?”

 

Peter looks to Tony and Pepper for reassurance and when he sees them nod, he looks back to Rhodey.

 

“I’m building the city,” he explains, handing Rhodey his block. “It’s almost done. I just need to add the people.”

 

He shuffles away from Rhodey to gather more supplies. Rhodey looks at Tony and Pepper and smirks. They shrug back at him and he turns to put the block on one of the highest towers. It doesn’t really look anything like New York, just a bunch of blocks piled on top of each other single file, but it works.

 

When Peter turns back around, he lets out a roar and stomps around, knocking over the LEGO buildings he so meticulously built.

 

“Woah, Godzilla,” Tony blinks in surprise. “You’ve got a mean roar.”

 

“I’m the aliens,” Peter explains. “I knocked New York over.”

 

“Oh,” Tony sobers up. Pepper and Rhodey exchange a look.

 

“And now,” Peter holds up a LEGO piece Tony didn’t notice before. Pepper must have bought it because he doesn’t remember doing so—it’s a little LEGO Iron Man. “Iron Man saves the day!”

 

He makes zooming noises as he flies the piece over the destruction of the LEGO city. He kneels down in front of a pile of blocks and tiny Iron Man lands next to it.

 

“I’m gonna rescue all the people now,” he says matter-of-factly and plucks one of the LEGO people out from beneath the blocks. “All safe.”

 

He hands it to Rhodey who accepts it silently and looks to Tony. He’s unable to respond, however, eyes glued on the small child.

 

“That’s me,” Peter says, pointing to Rhodey’s hand.

 

He goes back to picking little people out from beneath the LEGO rubble, but Tony’s mind is suddenly far away from the room they’re playing in. He’s in Manhattan, in the sky, looking up at a whole alien armada he’s unequipped to fight—they’re _all_ unequipped to fight—and they will die, they’re all gonna die, but he’s got a nuclear bomb strapped to his back and he can save everyone, but just this once and space is so big… and so cold…

 

 _“Tony! Tony!”_ He barely registers Pepper shouting his name but it’s too late, she missed his call and now he’s gone. There’s no air in space and he can’t breathe…

 

“Tony, get a grip! Pepper, take Peter back to his room. Tony! Breathe!”

 

There’s a hand on his chest and his back is pressed against something solid. It moves up and down and he closes his eyes. It’s warm and he’s so cold.

 

“Match my breaths, man. Come on,” Rhodey, that’s Rhodey.

 

Tony tries to breathe in rhythm with the lungs against his back but it’s not _working_ he can’t _breathe_ he’s gonna _die_ —

 

“You’re not dying, you’re just having a panic attack. Breathe with me, you’ll get it.”

 

The combination of Rhodey’s calm instruction and his continuous attempts to get his breathing under control eventually calms him down enough that he re-enters the present.

 

He’s still out of breath though and he gasps for air as he pulls away from Rhodey’s arms.

 

“ _What,”_ he hisses in between breaths. “The _fuck_ was that?”

 

“A panic attack,” Rhodey replies. “I’ve seen many soldiers get them before—“

 

“I’m _not_ a soldier!” Tony argues.

 

“Don’t have to be,” Rhodey says calmly. “They can happen to anyone, especially after a traumatic event.”

 

“Traumatic event? I haven’t had a traumatic event.”

 

“Uh, what about fighting alien invaders?”

 

“That wasn’t a _traumatic event,”_ Tony snaps. “Literally everyone in New York went through that. I’m the one that _helped._ That wasn’t a panic attack, that was…”

 

Rhodey shakes his head. “Deny it all you want, Tones. I think you need help. And if you’re not gonna seek it, maybe you shouldn’t be taking on—“

 

 _“Don’t,”_ Tony seethes, “say I’m not equipped to handle Peter. I know myself better than you and I know I can do this.”

 

Rhodey looks doubtful and it makes his blood boil.

 

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” he says carefully. “It’s just… I’m not sure this is what’s best for you or Peter right now.”

 

“Oh? So being in an overcrowded foster home is what’s best for Peter?” Tony asks. “Being handed over to exhausted and frazzled social workers who suddenly have too many kids on their hands would be better for him?”

 

Rhodey sighs. “That’s not…”

 

“No, I don’t want to hear it,” Tony interrupts. “I can _handle_ it.”

 

There’s no room for any more arguing, so Rhodey relents. Tony is sick of having to defend himself over this issue. Peter is fine, he has anything he could ever need or want, and he has undivided attention. What more could he be given?

 

They head back up to where Peter’s temporary room had been set up and Pepper is still there, soothing him.

 

“Is he okay?” Tony hears Peter ask.

 

“Yeah, he’s gonna be fine,” Pepper reassures him. “Rhodey is helping him.”

 

They enter the room and both occupants turn to them.

 

“Tony!” Peter exclaims and tries to crawl off the bed over to him. Pepper helps him down and he runs over and hugs Tony’s leg. “I was scared.”

 

Tony is taken aback by the easy show of affection. He’s only known the kid for a few days now and he’s already clinging to him. Tony slowly leans down to hook his hands under his arms and hoist him up on his hip.

 

“Sorry, bud,” he apologizes. “I just had trouble breathing for a second, but I’m better now. Nothing to be scared of.”

 

“Was it because of this?” Peter asks and places his hand on Tony’s arc reactor.

 

Tony feels Pepper and Rhodey tense. He never lets anyone touch the arc reactor. Well, besides Pepper. But he’s touched it before, right after Tony saved him, and he finds himself still not minding now. It’s strange.

 

“No,” he gives him a small smile. “That’s fine, it doesn’t bother me anymore.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony realizes that he’s alone with the kid for an entire day for the first time ever. He peeks around the corner at Peter contentedly watching cartoons on the TV. He can’t let him do that all day… can he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... you may have noticed I added an extra chapter to the chapter count. I decided this chapter would be better suited split into two parts, so I just spent the past week frantically adding more scenes to this chapter so it wouldn't be incredibly short. I hope it turned out ok.

Peter goes down quieter that night, no more crying this time, and Tony is grateful for it. He doesn’t think he can handle another tantrum without having a psychological break. Rhodey and Pepper leave after making him promise that he would call them if he has another panic attack. They’re worried for him, which is stupid because that was a one time thing. A fluke.

 

“Get some sleep,” Pepper basically threatens him as she leaves. And Tony isn’t an easily intimidated man but she puts the fear of God in him.

 

So, after they’re gone he settles into bed and stares at the ceiling. He doesn’t want to sleep, he’s not even tired, but he owes it to Pepper and also Peter. So he finds himself reciting Pi in his head until he slowly drifts.

 

...

 

He dreams of space. He sees aliens descending from the sky, New York falling to the ground. He sees blood, his comrades falling, and they’re so far away. He’s rising above them, too far to reach, towards the stars. A fiery explosion is in the distance and he’s drifting towards it. This is the end, he knows it. He’s going to die alone and he couldn’t save them. Everyone’s going to die and it’s his fault.

 

_“Tony?”_

 

_What?_ He recognizes that voice. There, next to him, in the grip of a Chitauri is Peter. He’s so small and he looks scared.

 

_“Tony, what’s happening?”_

 

Tony tries to scream but there’s no sound in space. He doesn’t know why he can hear Peter, doesn’t know how Peter can breathe, how _he_ can breathe, but he’s screaming and nothing is coming out.

 

_“Tony, wake up.”_

 

The Chitauri is squeezing Peter and he’s crying.

 

_“Tony, please.”_

 

A hand presses against his face and he lunges forward, gasping for breath. His heart pounds and he feels it heavy against the arc reactor. He takes deep breaths and tries to even out his heart rate. He’s back in his room, he realizes. He’s sweating and breathing heavily but he’s safe. It was just a dream.

 

“Tony?”

 

He whips around and Peter is sitting on his bed with wide, wet eyes. _God,_ the kid must’ve woken him up. He looks scared. Tony did that to him. He surges forward and puts his arm around him. He doesn’t know who he’s trying to comfort: himself or the kid.

 

“Pete, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” he whispers. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

 

“Were you having a bad dream?” Peter asks, wrapping his little arms around Tony’s waist.

 

Tony considers lying for a second, but thinks better of it. “Yeah.”

 

“I had a bad dream too,” Peter admits.

 

Tony’s heart pangs. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

 

Peter pulls away from the hug and looks down at the sheets. “I was trapped again.”

 

Tony is filled with massive guilt. He can’t help but feel responsible for getting Peter into that situation in the first place. And now he’s traumatized. He should probably look into getting him professional help.

 

“And mama and daddy were there too, but I couldn’t see them,” Peter continues. Tony freezes. “They were calling me but I couldn’t find them.”

 

Tony doesn’t know what to say to that. He’d called the social workers that day and given them his name and age, hoping that would help them find his parents faster, but there still has been no word from them. He wishes he could tell him he can take him back to them right now.

 

“I miss them,” Peter says quietly and it breaks his heart.

 

“I know,” he squeezes his shoulder but offers no words of comfort.

 

Peter shuffles towards the pillows and pulls the duvet down. “Can I… can I sleep here tonight?”

 

Tony hesitates. If he has another nightmare… would he accidentally scare Peter again? Or worse… hurt him?

 

“Mama says sleeping with her makes the bad dreams go away. Will you make the bad dreams go away too?”

 

Tony can’t abandon this kid. There’s no way he can make him go back to his own bed. “I can try.”

 

He shifts until he’s under the covers too, tucking himself and the kid in. Peter scooches over until he’s pressed up against Tony’s chest, the light from the arc reactor glowing off his face. Carefully, Tony wraps an arm around him. He’s so small, Tony feels like he’s going to break him, but the kid trusts him enough to sleep in his bed, so he tries to be gentle.

 

They eventually doze off like that, curled up with each other. Neither of them have another bad dream that night.

 

—

 

Tony wakes up to the sensation of something tapping his cheek and a weight on his chest.

 

He groans and slowly opens his eyes to see a blurry face hovering above him. When his eyes focus, he see that it’s Peter sitting on top of him and tapping his cheek.

 

“Are you awake?” he whispers.

 

“I am now,” Tony grumbles, and rearranges Peter to his lap so that he can sit up. “Did you sleep good?”

 

Peter nods. “Yeah, no more nightmares.”

 

“That’s good. Me neither.”

 

Tony closes his eyes and leans against the headboard. If he can just get a few more minutes…

 

“I’m hungry.”

 

_Damn it._ He opens his eyes and looks down. “Is that so?”

 

Peter nods. “Can we make pancakes?”

 

“Pancakes?” Tony doesn’t know how to make pancakes. “Sure, let’s make pancakes.”

 

Peter cheers while Tony hoists him off the bed and carries him on his hip to the kitchen downstairs. He’s pretty sure there’s pancake mix somewhere… and there’s instructions on the box, so how hard can it be? It’s science.

 

He sits Peter on the counter and rummages through the cabinets looking for the mix. He locates it and checks the back. All he needs is eggs and milk? Easy.

 

He grabs a skillet and non-stick spray from the cupboard and eggs and milk from the fridge. He brings it all to the stove where Peter is patiently waiting. He picks up a bowl and a spatula from the rack and gets started.

 

“I wanna stir!” Peter demands once all the ingredients are in the bowl. Tony relinquishes the giant spoon to his hands. He stirs it clumsily and there’s still giant chunks left when he hands it back so Tony finishes it off and turns the stove on.

 

“Stay back, okay Peter?” Tony warns. “Don’t get too close, it’s hot.”

 

Peter nods in understanding and scooches back a little. Tony starts pouring the batter into the pan.

 

“No, no, no!” Peter shouts. “That’s not how mama does it!”

 

Tony tenses and removes the pan from the surface. He thought he followed the instructions correctly…

 

“How does your mom do it?”

 

“She makes them in funny shapes.”

 

Tony raises his eyebrow. “Well I don’t know how to do that… is it okay if they’re just circles this time?”

 

Peter looks like he’s on the verge of crying again. “No!”

 

Tony scrubs at his face. God, the kid is stubborn.

 

“Well how about we put chocolate chips in them instead? Would that be a good substitute?”

 

Peter’s eyes gleam like he’d never been upset in the first place. “Chocolate chips?”

 

Tony nods.

 

“‘Kay.”

 

Tony smiles and goes to the pantry to collect chocolate chips. _I’m getting good at this,_ he thinks.

 

At breakfast, Tony sets up his StarkPad so Peter can watch cartoons as he eats. It’s probably not very responsible, but Tony needs his coffee and a few minutes of silence after the hectic morning.

 

Also, Peter’s a mess of sticky syrup now and Tony realizes he probably needs a bath. Once Peter pushes his mostly empty dish away, Tony is piling it in the sink and picking him up from under the armpits and hauling him to the bathroom.

 

“Okay, kiddo, you’re a mess. Potty, then brush your teeth, and then it’s time for a bath.”

 

“Noooooo,” Peter moans as if Tony just told him he has to do something horrible. “Don’t wanna.”

 

“Well you have to.”

 

“Not dirty.”

 

“Yes you are, kiddo, look at your hands.”

 

Peter pauses, unable to argue that reasoning. “I don’t _waaaaanna,”_ he just moans again instead.

 

Tony rolls his eyes. “You weren’t this upset about it last time.”

 

Peter puts up a valiant struggle when they get to the bathroom. He takes a suspiciously long time on the potty and brushing his teeth and when Tony tries to take off his shirt, he starts wailing.

 

“Come on, kid, I’m pretty sure I struggled less than this when I was being waterboarded. You’re being dramatic.”

 

Peter doesn’t budge so Tony sighs and turns on the water. He pours in some bubble bath for good measure.

 

“See? Look, it’s nice and warm. And look,” he raises up plastic rings from the bottom of the tub that he’d put there after Pepper bought them. “Tub toys.”

 

Interest piqued, Peter looks over the edge of the bathtub to see a plethora of toys at the bottom, slowly rising with the water.

 

“Now will you let me take off your clothes?”

 

Peter looks back at Tony and doesn’t say anything. But he doesn’t put up a fight when Tony wrangles his clothes off. He turns off the faucet.

 

“Is that warm enough for you?”

 

Peter sticks his hand in and nods. So Tony picks him up and plops him in the water. Peter immediately starts playing with the bubbles on the surface of the water. Tony dunks a washcloth under the water and proceeds to scrub all of the grime off Peter. He wets his hair and reaches for the baby shampoo. Peter suddenly seems like he’s having the time of his life, and he squeals and splashes the water. Tony gets soaked by the incoming wave but Peter doesn’t seem to pay any mind. He just grabs his toys and continues his splashing.

 

“Hey, stay still, Pete,” Tony says as he tries to put the baby shampoo in his hair without getting any in his eyes.

 

Ten minutes and one absolutely soaked Tony later, Peter now seems like he doesn’t want to get _out_ of the tub.

 

“Come on, kid, you’re pruning,” Tony reasons.

 

Peter just giggles and smears some bubbles on his chin. “I’m you,” he says.

 

Tony feels his heart melt. “Yeah, you look just like me, bud.”

 

Peter laughs. Tony isn’t sure he’s ever met anyone so genuinely _happy_ all the time as Peter. Sure, he’s a kid and kids tend to be happy, but Peter is currently missing his parents, was just trapped under rubble a few days ago, witnessed an alien invasion at the tender age of three, and still seems perfectly well-adjusted and happy. How does he do that? Tony feels like he’s cracking under the pressure of pretending everything is fine. Last week, aliens were the furthest thing from his mind. Now, he keeps seeing them in his dreams, returning to finish what they started. He sees the dead bodies of everyone he’s pulled from the rubble, everyone he couldn’t save. But Peter, who was a victim of the attack, who’s not old enough to fight back, who is missing his parents, seems perfectly fine.

 

“Alright, let’s get you out,” Tony grabs Peter and pulls him out of the tub with little more preamble. Peter whines at the cold, but Tony is fast to wrap a towel around his little body. “I’m soaked, I gotta change, and we gotta get you into your day clothes.”

 

Tony walks Peter back to his room. He can’t think about it. He won’t. He has Peter to focus on right now, and as much as he likes to think of himself as the one helping him, he knows Peter is helping just as much. He gives him something to do, something to fight for, something to focus on that isn’t the impending emotions bubbling up under the surface of his psyche ready to explode. Because he knows it’s only a matter of time and he’ll have to deal with the fallout as soon as it does, but for now Peter is keeping him sane. He feels needed, so he has to keep it together. For Peter.

 

—

 

Pepper is busy being CEO but she makes time to call in and check on him.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay? Should I ask Happy to come—”

 

“No, please,” Tony rubs his face. “I’m fine, I swear. I think I can handle the kid on my own. Don’t send anyone.”

 

“Okay,” Pepper says, but she doesn’t sound convinced. “What do you have planned for today?”

 

“I don’t know,” Tony says. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

 

“Alright, well… if you need anything, call Happy.”

 

“Oh, because he’s so great with kids,” Tony responds sarcastically.

 

“I know, but I’m busy today and Rhodey probably is too. But Happy is your bodyguard, you actually hired him to help you.”

 

“Head of Security, actually.”

 

“What?”

 

“I recently promoted him… to Head of Security. He asked. Something about Iron Man not needing a bodyguard?”

 

“Ugh, well… we’ll discuss that later. Anyways, I have to go. Are you sure you got this?”

 

“How many times are you going to ask that?” Tony rolls his eyes. “I’m fine. Have a nice day at work, honey. I’ll have dinner ready for you tonight like a good housewife. Love you.”

 

Pepper laughs. “Love you, too.”

 

He doesn’t tell her about the nightmare. She doesn’t need to know, honestly. It was a one time thing, just like the panic attack.

 

Instead, he focuses on the fact that he’s alone with the kid for an entire day for the first time ever. He’s already made it to ten o’clock… but what now? He peeks around the corner at Peter contentedly watching cartoons on the TV. He can’t let him do that all day… can he?

 

It’s tempting, but he already knows what Pepper would say to that, and for some reason that spurs him to turn off the TV once the episode he’s watching is over.  


“Okay, Pete,” Tony announces once Peter’s eyes are on him. “What do you want to do today?”

 

Peter stares at him like _he’s_ the one that’s supposed to do the planning. Which… right, adult. But hey, he’s giving the kid free reign, isn’t that what cool adults do?

 

“I wanna watch another show,” Peter finally says.

 

Tony deflates. “But you already watched a show. Why don’t we do something else now?”

 

“I wanna watch _PAW Patrol.”_

 

Tony rubs his face. The kid is being really difficult. It would be so much easier to just let him watch TV until his brain rotted out, but he is trying to be a responsible adult here.

 

“Why don’t we do some puzzles?”

 

“No,” Peter pouts.

 

“Drawing?” Tony tries.

 

Peter shakes his head.

 

Tony sighs. He wracks his brain for all the stuff they bought for Peter which apparently isn’t cooler than a poorly animated kid’s show. “What about… we play a game?”

 

That piques Peter’s interest. “What kind of game?”

 

“Uhh…” Tony flounders. “We got board games, card games, some computer games…”

 

“Can we play hide and seek?”

 

Of course. Of all the money Tony spent, the kid wants to play a game that requires no money. He figures the mansion must be very tempting… he remembers being a kid here once. He never played hide and seek, but he remembers finding a lot of good hiding spots from his father.

 

“Alright, let’s play hide and seek. Who goes first?”

 

“You count!” Peter laughs and starts running away before Tony even closes his eyes.

 

“Alright, fine. I’ll give you until the count of ten,” Tony closes his eyes and covers them with his hands. “One… two…”

 

Hours later, Peter is wretchedly still not bored of the game. Though the mansion is enormous, Peter’s choice in hiding spots leaves much to be desired, forcing Tony to “look” for Peter much longer than he actually needs to. Though Peter’s face lighting up when he finally does “find” him makes it all worth it. However, his knees and back are seriously starting to hurt after all the crouching and squatting he’s had to do when it’s his turn to hide. Once it’s late afternoon, he finally relents.

 

“Alright, uncle,” Tony cries when Peter finds him for the last time. “How about we make some lunch?”

 

“Okay,” Peter says cheerily, bouncing himself off Tony’s back and running down the hall toward the kitchen.

 

Tony slowly gets up from where he was crouching under the table and he swears he hears every single bone in his body crack. He can fight as Iron Man all day, but apparently playing hide and seek with a three year old is crossing the line. His muscles are definitely going to hate him tomorrow. _Where does the kid get that energy from?_ He wonders.

 

When he gets to the kitchen, Peter is already peeking at the pantry to check out his options.

 

“Can we have mac and cheese?” he asks. “With hot dogs? That’s how mama makes it.”

 

“Sure, kiddo,” Tony nods, stretching and somehow popping even more joints as he leans over Peter to grab the box of mac and cheese. “Wanna help me make it?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

Peter, Tony learns, is a very enthusiastic assistant. Even though he can’t do most of the tasks _(Tony keeps him far away from the boiling water and sharp knife)_ , he very excitedly pours the cheese powder onto the pasta as if Tony was letting him fly the Iron Man suit or something.

 

_It’s the little things,_ Tony thinks to himself. Kids don’t require a bunch of money thrown at them to be happy. Tony is so used to people just wanting him for his money that Peter throws him off guard. He just wants his attention.

 

A coil of warmth curls around Tony’s chest while he watches the kid stir the cheese powder into the pasta with such concentration. He doesn’t know where it comes from, but it’s a good feeling.

 

—

 

Tony is so worn out after lunch that he relents and lets Peter go back to his TV watching. Peter picks a movie and Tony settles in on the couch next to him, leaning back and closing his eyes. He’s utterly exhausted. Babysitting is _not_ easy.

 

While he feels himself begin to doze off, a sudden pressure against his side makes him crack an eye open. Peter has moved closer to him to lean against him while he watches the movie. He’s half on top of Tony now, head resting on his chest and slumping against him. Tony smiles.

 

“Comfortable, bud?” he asks quietly.

 

Peter nods, eyes glued to the screen. The fact that he’s this comfortable with Tony after a few days warms his heart. He’s never thought of himself as good with kids—or people in general—but Peter seems to trust him irrevocably. It makes something inside of him switch on that he didn’t even know he had. He doesn’t know what it is, but he feels… protective of Peter. He doesn’t want anything bad to happen to him again.

 

He’s not used to caring about people so quickly. It took him years to build up his trust in Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy… and he’s still working on trusting the Avengers, even though he fought with them. But with Peter… it comes so naturally. He cares for him, and that’s… odd.

 

He looks down and notices that Peter has fallen asleep against him. Smiling again, he smooths down the kid’s hair. He’s once again reminded of how exhausted he is.

 

“Good idea, kid,” he murmurs.

 

Leaning back, he closes his eyes and falls asleep.

 

—

 

Tony keeps to his word and has dinner ready for Pepper when she comes to the mansion to check on things after work.

 

“Here you go, darling,” he presents the plate before setting it down on the table in front of her. “Fresh cheeseburger.”

 

“Gee, thanks…” she doesn’t seem too pleased with the meal. She looks up at him skeptically.

 

“It’s what Peter wanted,” Tony explains, nodding his head to the other side of the table where Peter is happily munching on his burger.

 

“Ah, I see,” Pepper says. “Is Tony spoiling you, Peter? Have you had any veggies at all today?”

 

“No!” Peter laughs and makes a face like the very word grosses him out.

 

“Do kids need those?” Tony asks.

 

Pepper glares at him. “Again… not making me feel great about leaving you unsupervised with a child all day.”

 

“What? We had fun! Didn’t we, Pete?”

 

Peter nods, mouth full of burger.

 

Pepper smiles. “Well, I’m glad you two had a good day. And no emergency calls to me. I’m impressed.”

 

“I told you I could handle it,” Tony says much more confidently than he felt this morning.

 

“And you were right.”

 

Feeling smug, Tony kisses Pepper and then sits down in front of his own plate. “Well, Peter, why don’t you tell Miss Potts all about your day?”

 

Peter’s face lights up. He begins regaling the tale of his day to Pepper _(and embarrassingly includes all the TV they watched, earning Tony a raised eyebrow)_ while they eat. The feeling of domesticity comes back full force. _A family dinner,_ Tony thinks, like the ones he never got to experience as a kid. It’s… nice.

 

Pepper helps Tony put Peter to bed later that night, which helps speed up the process. Peter is a lot more willing to go down now than he was before, luckily, and they’re able to turn off the light and sneak out without any protests. A few minutes later, they find themselves at the front door, Pepper with her jacket on.

 

“I’d offer to stay the night, but I think you’ve got this,” she says, buttoning it up.

 

“No, you can definitely still stay the night,” Tony argues, eager.

 

Pepper smirks and pushes him away. “No, I’m gonna head out. I’ve got my own place, Tony, and I have work early in the morning. Have you heard anything from the social workers?”

 

Tony sobers up. “No… but I’ve been keeping my phone on me.”

 

Pepper nods. “Alright, well… let me know when you do. It’s been a week since the attack now, they shouldn’t take much longer.”

 

Tony feels guilty hoping that they do. “Well… I’ll keep you posted.”

 

Pepper nods. “Goodnight, Tony. Take care of yourself.”

 

“You too,” Tony leans down to kiss her. “Goodnight.”

 

She leaves and Tony is left in the quiet house. Peter is sleeping upstairs, but he feels alone with his thoughts. The illusion of the day somehow bursted with Pepper’s reminder about the social workers. He doesn’t know why her mentioning that upset him so much. He knows he’s waiting on a call from them. But over the course of the day, he just somehow forgot why Peter was in his house. It just feels so natural.

 

Shaking his head, he steps away from the door. There’s no use dwelling on it—Peter will be reunited with his parents soon enough and that will be that. Getting too attached would be a mistake. And if Tony’s learned anything over the years, it’s that it's no good to get attached to something he knows he can’t keep.

  
So he’s definitely, one hundred percent, _not_ going to get attached to Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In other news, I decided to revive my writing blog, and I'm going to try really hard to keep up with it this time. So if you want updates on my fics, follow me at camelot-queen on tumblr!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After about a week with the kid, Tony realizes that they’ve been cooped up inside the entire time, and that won’t do. Kids need fresh air, at least he’s been told. So after he gets Peter and himself dressed for the day, he calls Happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I'm a dumbass and decided to extend this story AGAIN. There just keeps being more that I feel like I need to add. So that's the reason behind the long wait... this story just doesn't want to be over, I guess. And this chapter is also shorter than the others, so I apologize for that... it just didn't want to get any longer.

After about a week with the kid, Tony realizes that they’ve been cooped up inside the entire time, and that won’t do. Kids need fresh air, at least he’s been told. So after he gets Peter and himself dressed for the day, he calls Happy. 

 

“Tony, I swear to god, if you ask me to babysit the kid, that’s where I draw the line. I don’t get paid enough for this,” Happy grumbles without prelude. 

 

“Relax, Hap. I just thought you could give me and the kid a ride to the park.” 

 

“The park?” Happy asks critically.

 

“That’s what I said, yes.” 

 

“Are you sure that’s the best thing for the public to see you doing right now? Chilling out at the park with some random kid?” 

 

“I’ll disguise myself,” Tony shrugs. “And anyways, what else do they want me to do? I’ve personally aided in cleanup with the rest of the Avengers and I’ve funneled money into practically every relief fund out there, including people’s personal GoFundMe’s. Life has got to go back to normal at some point.” 

 

_ “Normal?” _ Happy sounds aghast. “We just had an alien invasion. Nothing is  _ normal  _ anymore. And now you’ve got this tyke running around the penthouse and you’ve been having nightmares—don’t think Pepper hasn’t told me that—”

 

“Woah, slow down,” Tony interrupts him. The conversation is veering dangerously into territory he doesn’t want to enter. “All I asked was if you would take me and the kid to the park. I don’t need a whole spiel.” 

 

Happy is silent for a moment and then sighs. “I know you’ve gotten the speech from Pepper and Rhodey already so I know you don’t need it from me, but just so you know… I agree with them. You’re avoiding what happened, you’re using the kid as a crutch. It’s a temporary solution.” 

 

“Great,” Tony says in a clipped tone. “Everyone’s talking behind my back. Glad we're all up to speed. So, park? I’ll grab Peter and make some packed lunches, can you be here in around thirty minutes?” 

 

Happy doesn’t say anything for a second. Then, finally, a sigh. “Fine. Even though I’m technically not your driver anymore.” 

 

Tony smiles. “That’s what I wanted to hear.” 

 

—

 

Happy seems annoyed when he enters the mansion, but he always seems that way, so Tony pays him no mind. 

 

“Where’s the kid?” he asks. 

 

“Hello to you too,” Tony responds. “He’s in his room.” 

 

Happy looks around at all the kids toys strewn around the floor. It’s definitely a different look from Tony’s typical living arrangement, and Happy narrows his eyes at him. 

 

“It looks like the Toys R Us giraffe threw up all over this place.” 

 

“Yeah, well,” Tony scratches his nose. “It’s better than  _ actual  _ vomit—which—remember that time…?” 

 

“Please don’t remind me.” 

 

Tony obliges. The party at the mansion had been epic, but the aftermath had been disastrous. 

 

“Right,” Tony claps his hands together. “Let’s introduce you to the kid. Peter! Happy’s here!”

 

The sound of little sneakered feet running sounds down the hallway until Peter is rounding the corner and coming to an abrupt stop in front of the two men. 

 

_ “You’re _ Happy?” he asks in disbelief, staring up at him with wide eyes. 

 

“Yeah, what about it?” Happy challenges. 

 

“You don’t look very…  _ Happy,” _ Peter responds critically. He wrinkles his nose to emphasize his point. 

 

“Well, what were you expecting? One of the Seven Dwarves?” Happy snaps and Peter blanches. 

 

“Hey, don’t scare the kid,” Tony picks Peter up. “Don’t worry, Pete, he’s just kidding. Right, Happy?” 

 

Happy stares at Tony for a second before looking back at Peter. “Of course. Nice to meet you, Peter.” 

 

Peter still looks wary of Happy, so Tony pokes him in the ribs a couple of times to get him to smile. 

 

“Don’t worry, he’s just a little testy. Shall we get this show on the road? Happy, I’ve got a bag over there, can you grab it for me?” 

 

He points to the bag and Happy grumbles but complies and follows Tony out the door. Tony picks one of his less flashy cars… he is trying to lay low, after all. It takes them a while to set up a booster seat in the back for Peter, but once they get it figured out, they’re on the road. 

 

Happy is quietly seething the whole way to the park, but Tony is more invested in Peter sitting next to him, and all the ways he can make him laugh. He makes silly faces and does silly voices, ignoring the way Happy is rolling his eyes through the rearview mirror. Peter thinks it’s hilarious, and that’s what is important. He’s starting to grow really fond of that laugh…

 

_ Wait.  _

 

Tony doesn’t want to dwell on that thought. It’s a dangerous one to have. Luckily, Happy pulls into the parking lot of the park and he can distract himself with unbuckling Peter from his booster seat before the kid starts getting too antsy. The doors unlock and he steps out, moving to the other side to open Peter’s door and lift him out of the car. He walks up to the driver’s side and raps on the window. Happy rolls it down. 

 

“Care to join us, Hap?” Tony asks, putting Peter down. The kid seems really eager to get over to the grassy area. He grabs Tony’s hand and starts tugging but it doesn’t budge him at all. 

 

“I’d rather not, thanks,” Happy responds. “I’ll be around the area, just ring me when you’re ready to go.” 

 

“You sure?” 

 

“Yeah, you got the kid right now. I’m not good with kids.” 

 

“Okay,” Tony shrugs. “You got it. I’ll see you later.” 

 

He goes around to the back to grab the picnic basket and blanket from the trunk and waves to Happy as he heads off. Peter waves too. He holds Tony’s hand as they walk towards a grassy area. It’s so small in his, Tony is incredulous that he’s managed to keep such a small human alive and well for the past couple of days. 

 

They sit in a grassy area away from other people. Tony is wearing a hat and sunglasses and casual clothes but he’s paranoid he’ll still be noticed outside of his house for the first time since The Incident. He’s not ready to address that right now or answer questions about the kid. He doesn’t want the media finding out about him and he knows it’s risky taking him out in public, but he’s a kid and he needs fresh air and fun activities. Tony figured a picnic would be a nice way to get out of the house and keep a low profile. They won’t have to interact with anyone, and Peter can run around all he wants. 

 

He flattens the blanket and Peter plops down on it while Tony lowers the basket to the ground and rummages through it. He has sandwiches, sliced fruit, a juice box for Peter and a water bottle for himself, and a nice dessert of Oreo cookies once Peter has finished his meal. 

 

He hands Peter his portions, who squeals in delight as he accepts the juice box. He eats his meal happily, pulling apart the sandwich and eating it in small chunks that he squishes up. It grosses Tony out, but Peter seems content with his process so he doesn’t complain. Peter looks out across the park and points out dogs and squirrels whenever they pass his line of sight. Tony nods along to all of his insights and asks him basic questions like what color the grass or the sky is and how high he can count. Then he starts asking him some basic math questions and he’s surprised at how much Peter knows at his age. He’s not sure what the typical intelligence level is for kids his age, but he sure knows a lot more than Tony anticipated. 

 

He wonders what kind of subjects he’ll be interested in when he gets older. He seems to have an aptitude towards math and science already, and Tony wants to foster that and help it grow. Of course, he’s a huge supporter of the sciences and the ideas of younger generations, and Peter is one of the youngest minds out there right now. Who knows what he’ll be capable of in ten, fifteen years…

 

Once again, Tony reels himself back. He’s thinking too far ahead. He needs to just focus on the now. It’s hard when he’s a futurist by nature, but he can’t be thinking of Peter in the long term, not when he knows this situation is temporary. 

 

_ Don’t get attached, don’t get attached…  _

 

Peter puts the remains of his sandwich down with finality and announces, “done.” Tony blinks and looks back at him. 

 

“All done?” he asks. 

 

Peter nods. “Mmhmm.” 

 

“Alright then,” Tony pulls a big bouncy ball out of the bag. “Do you wanna play for a bit?” 

 

Peter’s excited squeal hurts Tony’s ears a bit, but he smiles as he stands up and backs up a few feet. 

 

“Okay, ready?” He crouches down to Peter’s height and winds the ball up behind him, ready to throw. 

 

Peter holds his arms out. “Ready!” 

 

“Okay, here ya go,” Tony steps forward and gently throws it. It’s maybe only a foot of distance and he practically places it into Peter’s arms but it bounces out of them and falls to the ground anyways. 

 

Peter still seems giddily happy for the opportunity to catch it and chases after it anyways. Tony watches him fondly as the exchange continues for a while, Peter dropping it every single time, until the kid gets bored and just wants to run around kicking it and chasing after it. 

 

_ I can see him as more on the math team than the football team in high school,  _ Tony thinks to himself as he watches Peter fumble the ball over and over again. He accidentally kicks it while trying to pick it up and sends it careening even farther away. He never gets frustrated or upset, though… always happy for the chase. 

 

Tony eventually finds himself just standing there with his hands in his pockets, smiling as he watches the kid laugh and run around, shouting at Tony to watch him as he attempts to run as fast as he can  _ (not very fast at all) _ or jump over the smallest rock. Tony acts impressed regardless. 

 

It brings his mind back, unbidden, to the time in his childhood that he’d longed for his father to do this with him. To take him to the park and play catch. To just pay attention to him. But he never did, he was always too busy with his work. He always had more important things to do. 

 

But Tony doesn’t want Peter to feel that way. He wants him to know he has the time for him and that he’s happy to be with him. Peter should never want for attention. He’s too special for that. 

 

He’s happy and unmarred by the tragedy that has struck his life, somehow. He’s still able to smile although he misses his family, and Tony knows he does. He still has nightmares about them and every night and comes to sleep in Tony’s bed afterwards. Truthfully, he’s woken Tony up from his own nightmares every single time. They both sleep better when they’re together. Tony hates to think of Peter as a security blanket, but it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. 

 

Tony is distracted from his thoughts when Peter gets bored of throwing the ball around and brings it back to him. He grabs it and tucks it back into the bag. 

 

“Oreos?” he asks and Peter’s smile grows wider. 

 

They sit in comfortable silence for a while, munching on Oreos and enjoying the nice day. Tony looks up at the sky. Just a week ago, there was a gaping hole up there. He went  _ into _ it. It was almost the last thing he ever saw.

 

He shudders and looks back down at Peter. The kid is finished with his Oreos and covered in crumbs. The hilarity of the image grounds him back to reality. 

 

“Ready to go, bud?” 

 

_ “Nooooo,”  _ Peter whines, but Tony can see his eyes are getting droopy. 

 

“Come on, kid, you’re tired. If we head home now I’ll let you watch an extra TV show tonight.” It’s a win-win bribe. Peter  _ always  _ wants to watch more TV, and while his eyes are glued to the screen, Tony’s eyes get to rest. 

 

Peter gasps at the offer. “Okay, yea, I do that.” 

 

Tony laughs. “Thought so. Let’s hit the road.” 

 

He grabs a wet wipe from the bag and smears it across Peter’s messy face. The kid scrunches his nose and tries to pull away but Tony places his other hand lightly behind his head and anchors him in place. He scrubs off the kid’s hands next. 

 

“Alright, all clean,” he announces. Peter looks properly betrayed. 

 

After they pack up, he calls Happy and has him pick them up at the edge of the park. He gets in the car, fastens Peter in his carseat, and they’re off. The kid is exhausted after a full belly of food and lots of running around, so he falls asleep on the ride back. Tony just watches him and marvels at the innocence in his sleeping features. 

 

When they get home, Tony carefully removes the seatbelt and pulls Peter towards his chest. He squirms a little but he doesn’t wake up and though he’s heavy, he clings to Tony’s neck and stuffs his face into his shoulder.

 

He shuffles them both inside, Happy following behind with the bags. Tony silently motions him to leave them on the kitchen counter and walks down the hall to put Peter in bed. He’s still sleeping in the California King bed. Tony is probably spoiling the kid, but he always leaves it to go sleep with him pretty quickly anyways, so he doesn’t see a reason to buy him a smaller one. He places him in the center of the bed and brushes his hair back. The kid is out cold and doesn’t even react. The corners of Tony’s lips quirk into a smile and without even really thinking about it, he leans down and kisses his forehead. 

 

“Sleep tight, kiddo,” he whispers and crawls off the bed, quietly shutting the door behind him. 

 

Happy is still waiting for him in the kitchen when he comes back. He looks at Tony expectantly, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. 

 

“Be quiet,” Tony warns, putting a finger to his lips. “Kid’s sleeping.” 

 

Happy rolls his eyes. “I’m just gonna preface this by saying it’s really weird to see you play the doting father.”

 

“I’m not playing the doting father,” Tony argues. 

 

“You kind of are a little bit,” Happy retorts. “But it’s fine, I’m happy for you. Pepper and Rhodey have explained everything to me, which, by the way, not at all hurt that I’m the last person to meet the kid—”

 

“Are you trying to tell me something?” 

 

“But I’ll let it pass because I know you know I hate kids. You were just trying to be considerate, I appreciate that. Sort of.”

 

“Happy,” Tony deadpans. “Is there a point to this?” 

 

“The  _ point _ is that I’m worried for you,” Happy waves his arm towards him. “The  _ point  _ is I was in New York when it all went down too. I saw you go into the wormhole. I don’t admit this often so I’m only gonna say it once and don’t ask me to say it again: I was scared. And you haven’t talked to me at all since it happened. Then the first time you actually  _ do _ call me, it’s to ask me to drive you and some kid to the park? I’m not your personal chauffeur anymore Tony, and you know that. So why did you  _ really _ ask me to come?” 

 

Tony stares at Happy for a moment. Then he quirks a half smile. “See? This is why I hired you to be Head of Security. You sure know how to sniff out a person’s motives.” 

 

“You could’ve just fucking said you wanted to see me,” Happy grumbles. 

 

Tony shrugs. “Now why would I go and let people know I care about them? It would ruin my reputation.” 

 

“You keep acting gaga over that kid and it’s dashed to pieces, Tony.”

 

Tony waves him off. “No one needs to know about that. But anyways… since you’re already here, and you clearly want to  _ talk _ , care to share a bottle of Sauvignon?” 

 

He saunters over to the wine rack and pulls out a bottle. “The only downside of babysitting duty is I can’t drink in front of the kid. Being responsible and all. But he’s asleep, so… what do you say?” 

 

Happy mutters something about Tony having never been responsible in his life, but he shrugs and sits on the couch. 

 

“I’ll stay an hour, and then I gotta leave. Some of us have  _ real _ jobs, you know, and you better not tell Pepper I was drinking on it. But I’m serious… don’t go MIA on me again, and next time you call it  _ better _ not be to ask me to drive you somewhere.” 

 

Tony smiles. “I make no promises.” He pops the bottle. 

_

 

Happy leaves after Peter wakes up from his nap. Tony almost forgot what it was like to have a conversation with an adult and not a three-year-old, and he appreciated that Happy barely talked about Peter. He loves talking about him, but Rhodey and Pepper like to constantly ask about how he’s handling him, so Happy glossing right over that and going back to verbally jousting with Tony like nothing has changed was refreshing. 

 

But now the kid is back to full energy and Tony has to focus with keeping up with him, so all of that is pushed to the back burner once again. He is such a handful that it’s hard to keep track of time, but at some point right after dinner, while Peter is watching one of his promised cartoons and Tony is taking the opportunity to subtly take a nap on the couch, he’s woken up by his phone ringing. He jerks into awareness and automatically looks over to check on Peter, who is distracted by the TV show. It takes him a second longer to come to his senses and realize that his phone is still ringing and he should probably answer it. 

 

He stuffs his hand into his pocket and fishes it out. He doesn’t even check the caller ID before he answers, pressing it against his ear, and saying in a sleep-gruff voice, “hello?” 

 

“Mr. Stark, hello, this is Tonya Fleming, I’m the social worker assigned to Peter’s case. Do you have a moment?” 

 

Suddenly, Tony is wide awake. “Uhh, yeah… hang on a moment.” 

 

He stands up suddenly and Peter looks up at him curiously. He holds up a finger and whispers  _ I’ll be right back _ before exiting the room and going into the kitchen where Peter won’t hear him. His heart is thumping so much harder than it was a second ago, and he doesn’t know why. He puts the phone back to his ear. “What’s up?”

 

“We have an update regarding the location of his parents.” 

 

Tony holds his breath. “And?” 

 

Tonya sighs. “I’m sorry, but they were found in the rubble of a fallen building not too far from where Peter was located. It took a while to ID them because of how badly they were injured, but we were able to get confirmation today. They are deceased.” 

 

Tony’s breath whooshes out of his lungs. He feels his heart sink while simultaneously a rush of adrenaline fills his chest. If Peter doesn’t have any parents, he needs someone to take care of him permanently, right? He immediately feels guilty for the thought… he just got news that a young couple, Peter’s  _ parents _ have died, and he’s already planning how this could benefit him? 

 

He subtly looks around the corner to where Peter is still sitting on the couch. How is he going to tell him? That will be the toughest part, for sure. It’ll break the kid’s heart. Will he even understand? He almost died himself, but does he understand the scope of it? 

 

The new is grim, yet against all odds, a tiny seed of hope begins to grow inside of his chest. This could be a sign… 

 

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Stark,” Tonya continues, unaware of Tony’s thought process unravelling. “It’s a tragic loss for all involved.”

 

“That’s horrible,” Tony agrees, feeling out of his body. Too much is rushing through his head. 

 

“Their names were Richard and Mary Parker,” she tells him. “They only have one living relative, and that’s Ben Parker. He lives in Queens with his wife, far enough away from the attack that they were unaffected. We were able to get in touch with them and have them confirm Richard and Mary’s identities. They will be taking care of the funeral arrangements. We also told them about the situation involving Peter and they have agreed to take custody.” 

 

Tony’s heart stops.  _ Shit. _ Of course he has other living relatives that have legal standing over him. He feels like he can’t breathe. He looks over at Peter again and suddenly it feels different. At some point over the past week, he’s forgotten this situation wasn’t permanent. 

 

“Oh.” 

 

He should be happy, shouldn’t he? This was the goal. To see Peter off, to find his parents—or guardians—to prove that he did something  _ good _ in the aftermath of such tragedy that he feels personally responsible for. This is what he wanted. 

 

“Thank you so much for all you’ve done for Peter and the rest of the kids placed in foster care in this horrible tragedy,” Tonya says. “You have no idea the impact you’ve made. We’re all very grateful for the support you’ve offered, and I’m sure the Parkers will be very grateful as well.” 

 

“Great! That’s great…” Tony answers numbly. “When are they available to come get him?” 

 

“They said they’re willing to come as soon as possible. So, if you’re ready, we can schedule an appointment tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be there for the legal side of things, there will be some things to sign and I’ll write up the official report saying that he was successfully transfered to his legal guardians. We want this to be as quick and efficient as possible, you’ve already done so much to help. We don’t want to hold you up any more than we already have.” 

 

_ Tomorrow afternoon.  _

 

“Perfect.” 

 

_ Tomorrow. _

 

Tony had no idea when he woke up this morning that this would be his last day with Peter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone see that coming?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first thing Tony does is call Pepper.
> 
> Pepper always has a plan, she always knows what to do. She can fix this, he thinks to himself.
> 
> But all she does when he explains the situation to her is sigh. “Oh, Tony,” she says. “You knew this was going to happen eventually.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I had to revamp this chapter too and had major writer's block. But I powered through it and it's finally here! Enjoy. :)
> 
> (Also, holy shit... that Endgame trailer???? I'm dying. IRON DAD VALIDATION!!! I already bought tickets for the Thursday AND Friday of the release weekend. I have a problem.)

The first thing Tony does is call Pepper. 

 

_ Pepper always has a plan, she always knows what to do. She can fix this, _ he thinks to himself. 

 

But all she does when he explains the situation to her is sigh. “Oh, Tony,” she says. “You knew this was going to happen eventually.” 

 

“I know,” Tony snaps. “But what can I  _ do  _ about it?” 

 

Pepper is quiet for a few moments, like she’s thinking. “What do you  _ want _ to do about it?” 

 

That catches Tony off guard. He isn’t sure what he wants, so he says the most reasonable thing that comes to his mind. “I just want Peter to be safe.” 

 

“Well,” Pepper says, drawing out the word. “Then I guess you have two options.” 

 

“And those are?” 

 

“One: You pass Peter on to his aunt and uncle. You’ll be there with him so you can deem whether or not they’re good people, but I’m sure they are, Tony. Ask Peter about them, see if he knows them. He’ll probably be happy to go back to some familiar faces.” 

 

That option doesn’t sit well with Tony. “And the other?” 

 

“Or… if you  _ really _ think this isn’t the best thing for Peter, you could battle them for custody.” 

 

Tony arches his eyebrow at that. 

 

“I don’t recommend it though,” Pepper adds hastily. “If they’re competent, there’s a high risk you’ll lose. Biological family always takes precedent and you’ll only be causing family drama for nothing.”

 

“But you’re saying there’s a  _ chance?”  _

 

“Are you telling me you want to permanently adopt Peter?” 

 

Tony pauses. Is that what he wants? 

 

“Because if you do, you better be damn sure before you tear a family apart to do it. And I cannot stress this enough: if they seem like good parents, I will not let you go through with this.” 

 

“So… what you’re saying is, if they seem like nice people, we’ll let them take Peter. If they seem like terrible people, we take them to court,” Tony considers this. 

 

“Ugh, I kind of wish I never told you option two.” 

 

“Too late, it’s in my head now,” Tony responds quickly. “If Peter doesn’t like them, I’m coming for their asses.” 

 

“Tony, this is not a rational way to handle this situation.” 

 

“Sorry, Pep, I have a lot of preparation to do. Thanks for the advice, I’ve got to go.” 

 

“Hey, wait—“ 

 

He hangs up, mind racing.

 

He can do this, there’s a chance this could work. Screw waiting until tomorrow, he just has to dig up all the dirt he possibly can on the Parkers. If he can present a solid argument to a judge, they’ll never let Peter stay with them. 

 

—

 

“Time for bed, Petey Pie.” 

 

“One more show?” Peter asks, his big brown eyes begging. “Please?” 

 

“It’s really hard to say no to those,” Tony admits, pointing to his face. “But I’ve let your brain melt enough today. How about I read you a couple extra books instead?” 

 

Peter thinks on it and finds it an agreeable trade, so he lets Tony lead him upstairs. They go about their nighttime routine they’ve gotten into over the past week and Tony finds himself getting sentimental over it. He’s always hated routine, it always felt constricting and boring, and he can’t believe he finds himself thinking about how he’ll miss this. 

 

“Can we read  _ Goodnight, Moon _ ?” Peter asks when he’s finally in bed. 

 

“I’ve read that to you, like, five times this week,” Tony complains. 

 

“I like it.” 

 

Tony stares Peter down for a second before he breaks.  _ “Fine.”  _ He grabs the book off the shelf. “What else?” 

 

Peter picks out three other books, and usually Tony would tell him he picked too many, but it’s the last night so he doesn’t say anything. 

 

“Scooch over.” 

 

He sits next to Peter in bed and leans against the headboard. Immediately, Peter crawls into his lap and settles against his chest. Tony thinks that it must be uncomfortable with the arc reactor there, but he seems perfectly content. 

 

He reads Peter all the books and he doesn’t rush through it, letting Peter turn the pages and stop to look at the pictures. When it’s all over, he tucks Peter into bed and brushes back his hair, giving him a kiss on the forehead. He hasn’t done that while Peter has been awake yet, but it feels appropriate to do now. 

 

“Goodnight, Petey.” 

 

“Goodnight!” 

 

He’ll tell Peter about his aunt and uncle tomorrow morning. But he wants this one last night with him completely to himself, pretending nothing is different. 

 

Immediately after he puts Peter to bed, he goes down to the lab. He only has tonight to do research, so he has to make it count. He makes himself a cup of coffee, boots up the servers, and hunkers down to work. 

 

—

 

“Sir? You need to wake up, sir. Peter is asking for you.” 

 

Tony groans, coming back into consciousness and squinting up at the ceiling. 

 

“Ugh, what time is it, Jar?” 

 

“It’s 3 AM, Sir.” 

 

“God,” Tony presses his palms against his eyes, trying to wake himself up. He’d stayed up late trying to dig up everything he could on the Parkers, and the results had been… infuriatingly clean. The Parkers had no spots on their records, either of them. They seemed like your typical, hardworking, all-American couple. 

 

That’s not what Tony was hoping for. 

 

“Why the fuck is Peter awake at three in the morning?” he finally asks once his brain catches up to what was said to him. 

 

“He said he had a nightmare,” Jarvis explains. “He’s crying, Sir.” 

 

And if that doesn’t get Tony’s ass in gear, he doesn’t know what does. He’s up out of his seat and rushing upstairs in no time. He finds Peter in the kitchen, tears on his face, fingers in his mouth, and blanket clutched in his other hand. 

 

“Shh, Peter, I’m here,” Tony says immediately upon seeing him, rushing to scoop him up. Peter buries his face into Tony’s shoulder, letting out a loud sob. “I’m sorry, buddy. What’s wrong?” 

 

“I-I couldn’t f-find you,” Peter struggles to explain around sobs. “You w-weren’t t-there.” 

 

Tony feels a pang in his heart. He was such an idiot, staying up late in the lab. He’s been good about going to bed early lately with Peter waking up every night and crawling into his bed, but his desperation to learn more about the Parkers caused him to slip up. He should’ve been there for Peter. 

 

He kisses the top of his head. “I’m so sorry, buddy. I fell asleep downstairs. Jarvis told me you had a nightmare, was it the same one?” 

 

Peter nods his head. It’s the same one every night… he’s stuck in the rubble again and his parents are calling him, but he can’t find them. It’s even more heartbreaking now, knowing that they’re dead. And it hurts even more to know that when Peter tried to seek comfort from him, he was gone too. 

 

“It’s okay, baby, I’m here now,” he attempts to soothe him. “Would you like to come to my bed now?” 

 

“Will you be there?” Peter asks softly. 

 

“Of course.” 

 

Then Peter nods. 

 

“Alright, sweetie,” Tony cradles his head and walks back to his bedroom. His shoulder is wet where Peter was crying against it. They make it back to the room and Tony gently lowers him down onto the bed. 

 

“Try to fall back asleep, okay?” he says as he pulls down the covers and gets in next to him. “Big day tomorrow.” 

 

Peter immediately suctions himself to Tony as soon as he lies down. Half of his body is on top of him, but Tony doesn’t mind. In fact, he holds him tight to his chest. He doesn’t want to sleep… he doesn’t want to forget how this feels. How quickly it became his new normal. 

 

He closes his eyes and listens to Peter breathe. He can’t sleep, not when he knows what is going to happen tomorrow, so instead he focuses on the small boy next to him and the comforting weight against him, the rhythm of his chest. He tries to memorize how it feels. 

 

Eventually, he drifts off to the soft lull of Peter’s breathing. 

 

—

 

He wakes up the way he has every day for the past week: by Peter sitting on him an tapping his cheek until he opens his eyes. But this time, the day is anything but routine. 

 

He pretends it is, though. He brings Peter down to the kitchen, like he always does. He asks him what he’d like for breakfast, like he always does. He wants Lucky Charms, so Tony pours them both a bowl. Him and Peter sit down at the table to eat, like they always do. 

 

But this time, Tony knows he needs to tell Peter. He can’t put it off any longer. The Parkers will be here in a matter of hours, and he needs to let the kid know. 

 

“Peter,” he begins, waiting for him to look at him with a mouthful of cereal before continuing. “I have something to tell you.” 

 

Peter smiles that bright smile of his. “What is it?” 

 

“CPS called me. You know, the people looking for your family?” 

 

Peter nods rapidly. “Did they find Mama and Daddy?” he sounds so excited, Tony almost doesn’t want to tell him. But he has to. 

 

He shakes his head. “Peter… your mom and dad, they…” How does he explain this in a way a three year old would understand? How does anyone possibly explain this? “They’re gone, buddy. I’m sorry.” 

 

“Gone?” Peter asks, his eyebrows furrowing. “Gone where?” 

 

Tony’s heart thuds fast. What does he say? 

 

“They, uh… they didn’t make it. They’re… in a better place now.” He tries to remember what people had told him when his parents died. Granted, he was twenty one and not a toddler. 

 

“Are they in heaven?” Peter asks, saving Tony from panicking any further. “Like Grandma and Grandpa?” 

 

“Yes,” Tony says quickly. “Exactly like that. They went to heaven.” 

 

Peter seems to grasp the idea of this, because his eyes tears up. “But why?” 

 

Tony panics again. God, he didn’t realize how hard it was to explain this to a little kid. “They didn’t want to go, bud. I’m sure they would have wanted to stay with you, but sometimes these things happen.” 

 

“They’re not coming back?” Peter asks, his voice cracking. 

 

Tony swallows. He shakes his head. 

 

Peter’s face crumbles, so Tony goes across the table to envelope him in a hug. He holds him for as long as the crying lasts, rubbing his back and making soothing sounds. He knows Peter still doesn’t entirely understand it, but he knows they’re not coming back. It feels like he’s finding out his parents were dead all over again. The pain never goes away, and it hurts to know that Peter is marred with this kind of sorrow at such a young age. He should never have to go through something like this. 

 

When the boy’s hiccuping quiets and he gets his breathing under control, the cereal is soggy. Tony breaks away from him to bring the bowls to the sink. He brings Peter a pastry as an apology. It’s a sorry one, but it’s all he has. 

 

Peter accepts the offering, as solemn as he was when Tony first brought him in. It’s jarring to see again after a week of progress to get him to open up into the happy boy he knows he is. He sits opposite of him and watches as he half-heartedly pulls it apart and eats it. He wishes he knew what to say to make it better. 

 

“I have something else to tell you,” he begins, watching the boys eyes fill with fear. He worries it’s more bad news. “Your Aunt May and Uncle Ben are coming to pick you up today.” 

 

The fear is immediately dissolved into hopefulness. “Auntie May and Uncle Ben!?” 

 

Tony winces at the enthusiasm in his voice. So he definitely knows them. “Yeah, buddy. They want to see you, they were so worried about you.” 

 

Peter smiles, despite the horrible ordeal he’s just been through. “I miss them. When are they coming?” 

 

Tony forces a tight smile. “Soon, buddy.” 

 

Peter’s mood lifts after that, and he finishes the pastry with ease. The points are racking up in the Parkers’ favor, and Tony doesn’t know why he feels so conflicted about that. It should be a good thing that nice people still exist in Peter’s life, right? 

 

There’s a knock at the door and it causes Tony to panic. It’s not time yet, is it? He needs more time. He looks at his watch. It’s still the morning, they can’t be early. He needs this time, dammit! 

 

He goes to the door, bracing himself, but instead Pepper greets him. His shock must show, because she smirks at him. 

 

“What, you think I’m gonna let you do this alone after yesterday’s phone call?” she asks, letting herself in. “I’m here for damage control. Someone needs to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.” 

 

Tony gawks after her, still not speaking. It’s probably for the best that she’s here, he usually acts without thinking when she’s not there as his conscience, but he can’t help but feel caught off guard by her presence. He expected to go through this alone. 

 

“Have you told Peter yet?” she asks, sitting down at the couch. 

 

“Well… yes, but I’m not sure if he understood. But he knows his aunt and uncle are coming.” 

 

“Did he seem excited?” 

 

“Oh yeah, elated.” 

 

“Well, that’s good,” Pepper smiles, but it still looks sad. “At least he knows them, and he likes them. He’ll be in good hands.” 

 

“Of course, so there’s no reason to worry about him anymore,” Tony agrees and tries to hide his shaking fists. They’re merely a result of the Chitauri attack and nothing more. 

 

Pepper looks like she wants to say more but right as she opens her mouth, Peter runs into the room in his bare feet. He’s smiling brightly. 

 

“Pepper!” he exclaims, his mouth having trouble forming her name correctly. “Uncle Ben and Auntie May are coming!” 

 

Pepper’s face lights up like she and Tony weren’t just having a troubling discussion and she swoops him into her arms. “I heard! I’m so excited to meet them!” 

 

“You’ll like them, they’re really nice,” Peter explains. 

 

“I’m glad,” she says softly. 

 

She puts him down and he runs off to go find his toys. She fixes Tony with a pitying look. 

 

“You’re doing a really good thing, Tony,” she says after a beat of silence. “I’m sorry we doubted you.” 

 

Tony snorts. “Told you I could handle a kid for a week.” 

 

But he knows that’s not what she means. Not anymore. 

 

—

 

Time passes faster than Tony would like. He mainly spends the rest of his time with Peter playing with him and watching his favorite show while the kid is snuggled up against him. He tries to ignore the aching in his chest and just appreciate the time he has left with him. It’s stupid to feel upset about it, anyways. He knew from the beginning this was going to happen. 

 

Rhodey comes over too and he and Pepper pack up Peter’s things for him. He’s really grateful for their help so he can just enjoy his time with the squirt and not worry about it. They both apologized to him with sad eyes as if his pet goldfish just died or something. He shrugs them off, not in the mood to listen to their condolences. They were the ones who didn’t want him to do this in the first place. 

 

The knock that sounds at the door feels like a bullet through Tony’s chest. Peter reacts to it by squealing and squirming out of his lap to run to the front door. He tries to reach for the handle but he’s not quite tall enough. 

 

“I got it,” Tony walks over to give him a hand. Pepper and Rhodey emerge from the hallway to stare at him apprehensively. He ignores them and opens the door. 

 

On the other side is a young couple, younger than Tony expected, and surprisingly good looking. They look worried but the second their eyes land on Peter, their faces light up. 

 

The woman reacts first. Tony assumes she’s May Parker. “Oh, Peter!” she exclaims and ducks down to envelop Peter in a hug. “We were so worried about you!” 

 

Peter just laughs in response and clings to her neck as she stands back up and supports his weight in her arms. The man—Ben Parker, Tony guesses— wraps his arms around the two of them. Tony can see similarities between the kid and Ben. They look like they could be his natural parents. 

 

The social worker who Tony has been in contact with, Tonya, is standing behind them quietly. Tony steps back to allow them all in and they smile and nod graciously.

 

“Please, have a seat,” Pepper steps forward to play gracious host since Tony isn’t up to the challenge. “Would anyone like any tea?” 

 

They all sit in the foyer, on the couches that Peter and Tony were sitting on moments ago. Peter rests on May’s lap and his uncle grabs his hand. 

 

“When the social worker said that Tony Stark was personally attending to our nephew, we didn’t believe her at first,” Ben says. “This whole time, we thought that maybe he’d… but the whole time, he’s been living it up with the richest man in the world.” 

 

He pokes Peter’s cheek playfully and the toddler laughs. The sound makes Tony’s heart flutter with joy and sink with sadness at the same time, and he never knew it was capable of both. 

 

“Well, he’s a good kid,” Tony says, and he means it. “When I found him, I couldn’t just let him stay in an overcrowded foster home until his guardians were located.” 

 

“We’re incredibly grateful to you, Mr. Stark,” May adds. “We’re devastated over the loss of Ben’s brother and our sister-in-law. They were really good people, but we’re so relieved Peter is okay.” 

 

Tony nods. It must be difficult for them. They look like they’re in their early 30s, clearly don’t have any children of their own, and they’ve just gone through a terrible loss. And now they’re willing to take over guardianship of their nephew. They’re strong people. 

 

“It was really no trouble,” Tony promises. “All in a day’s work, and all that.” 

 

“But this is above and beyond what’s expected of an Avenger,” Ben insists. “Truly… thank you.” 

 

Tony accepts the thanks with reluctance. He doesn’t feel like he deserves it when the pleasure has really been all his. 

 

Pepper returns with cups of tea for everyone, and Rhodey puts some snacks on the table. Then they sit next to Tony and Pepper squeezes Tony’s shoulder. He looks over to her and she fixes him with a look. He knows what it means.  _ They’re good people, stand down.  _

 

Tony looks back over to the couple doting on Peter. He’s smiling and they have tears in their eyes, grateful to be reunited with their nephew. He knows she’s right, he’ll be better off with them. 

 

“Shall we make this official, then?” Tonya pipes up. “I brought some paperwork for you all to sign and once that’s done, May and Ben, you will be the official legal guardians of Peter Parker.” 

 

“Yes, yes,” Ben nods. “Give us whatever we need to sign.” 

 

“And Tony,” Tonya directs her attention to him. “I’ll need to to sign these to forfeit your temporary guardianship.” 

 

Tony stares at the papers offered to him hollowly. This is it. Once he does this, Peter has no reason to be in his life anymore. 

 

“I don’t like being handed things,” he says automatically. It’s a defense mechanism. He doesn’t want them, he can’t take them. 

 

“Oh,” Tonya blinks. “Um.” 

 

“I’ll take them,” Pepper offers and reaches forward. Tony is both thankful and frustrated at it. 

 

“Okay,” Tonya nods. “Whenever you’re ready, Mr. Stark.” 

 

He’s not ready, but May and Ben are already taking their papers and signing them. Peter is happy with his real family. Pepper places the pen and papers on the coffee table in front of him. Her and Rhodey look at him with baited breath to see what he’ll do. But there’s only one more thing to do… he’s run out of options. 

 

So he picks up the pen. And he signs. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been three days since Tony has last seen Peter Parker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I thought I had this whole fic finished before I started posting, but man was I wrong. I've gone back and re-edited it so much that I added 20 whole extra pages to the original document. But it's finally done! I hope you enjoy the last chapter. :)

It’s been three days. Three days since Tony has last seen Peter Parker. 

 

He didn’t even know his last name until he lost him. He feels ridiculous feeling like he “lost” him when he wasn’t even his to begin with. He was foolish to get attached when he knew this wasn’t going to be permanent. 

 

But he had allowed himself to hope… 

 

Peter is with his family now. Maybe not his parents—and his heart aches for the young couple who won’t get to see their beautiful boy become a man, it really does—but his aunt and uncle seemed very loving and they’ll do a good job with him. He got what he wanted. 

 

So why does it still hurt so much? 

 

Pepper, Rhodey, and even Happy haven’t stopped looking at him sadly since May and Ben walked out the door with Peter and a bunch of suitcases in tow. Before they left, Tony had the chance to say goodbye.

 

_ “Where are you going?” Peter had asked as May and Ben started ushering him out the door. _

 

_ Tony tried to smile. “I’m not going anywhere, bud. You’re going back to your aunt and uncle’s house.” He poked him in the chest for emphasis. “You’re with your family now, you don’t need me anymore. I’ll miss you.”  _

 

_ “I’ll miss you too,” Peter responded, but it didn’t seem like he really understood that this was going to be the last time he saw Tony. “I’ll see you later.”  _

 

_ Tony smiled sadly, his eyes glassy. It was too difficult to explain it to him, so he just hugged him tightly.  _

 

_ “Bye, Peter.”  _

 

_ “Bye bye.”  _

 

And then just like that, Peter had walked out of his life. He had taken his uncle’s hand and left. It was better that way, that Peter didn’t know. If he started crying, Tony doesn’t know what he would have done. 

 

Since then, Tony has been spending an inordinate amount of time in the lab. He’s already made a new Iron Man suit and he’s still working on another. He doesn’t know what else to do, and it feels like he can’t stop. 

 

After Peter left, his nightmares have come back tenfold. He can’t explain why he keeps dreaming of the wormhole over and over again but every time he closes his eyes, he sees it again. He dreamt of it while with Peter, but it was never this bad. He’s woken up thrashing more times than he’s willing to admit, haunted by images of an endless void, so he’s just… given up on trying to sleep. And less sleep means more time in the lab, building more suits and trying not to think about Peter. 

 

The suits seem like a good way to spend his time if he’s not going to be sleeping. He no longer has a kid to take care of and he’s certainly never been good at taking care of himself, so he tinkers. Besides, there was just an  _ alien invasion,  _ they need to be prepared, and he clearly wasn’t prepared enough in the tin can that he called a suit before _.  _ He’s been so busy with Peter and putting New York back together that he hasn’t given himself much time to think about it, but now that he has nothing to distract him…  _ holy shit.  _ Those things were  _ way _ stronger than them, and if they hadn’t figured out a way to close the wormhole, a hell of a lot more damage would have been done and more casualties suffered. 

 

So… suits. He has a lot of ideas and he builds like he’s running out of time. Maybe he is. He has no idea when something like that could happen again. 

 

He’s been on a three day bender of frantically creating by the time Pepper descends the stairs to the lab, interrupting his concentration when she kneads at his shoulders. He jumps at the contact, not sensing her presence, and he turns around to see her unamused expression. 

 

“How long have you been down here?” she asks suspiciously when he stands up and rubs at his eyes. He blinks rapidly and the world blurs in and out of focus. 

 

“Mm… I stopped counting after hour forty-eight. What time is it?” 

 

Pepper looks at him incredulously. “Seriously? Tony, you can’t do that!” 

 

“Why not?” 

 

“You’re gonna kill yourself, that’s why! What has gotten into you?” She’s disappointed in him. He’s used to disappointment, but it’s different with her. This isn’t his father, or Obi, or Fury. This is  _ Pepper. _ He never wants her to be disappointed in him. 

 

“I…” he doesn’t know how to respond truthfully. He doesn’t understand it himself. 

 

“Is this about the battle?” Pepper asks softly when he offers no answer. “Or Peter?” 

 

Tony is taken aback by her ability to get right to the point.

 

“Um… both?” He honestly isn’t even sure. 

 

Pepper sighs. “I want to help you, Tony. But I can’t if you don’t talk to me.” 

 

“What is there to talk about?” Tony scoffs. “It’s all over now. The threat has been taken care of, and Peter is back with his family… so everything is good now. This is all just… precautions.” 

 

_ “Is _ it good, though?” Pepper asks. 

 

Tony doesn’t want to answer that. 

 

“Tony…” Pepper shakes her head. “Ever since Peter left, you’ve been getting worse.” 

 

“I’m  _ fine,” _ he snaps. 

 

“You’re not,” she retorts. “It’s okay to admit that you miss him.” 

 

“Why would I miss him?” Tony lies. “I only knew him for a week. I told you it would be a week tops, remember? I knew it was temporary, so it would be stupid to be sad about it.” 

 

Pepper rolls her eyes. “It’s not stupid to have feelings. Can you just admit that you loved him?” 

 

Tony recoils at the world. He hasn’t allowed himself to think about it—has actively avoided it. It’s been the elephant in the room since practically day one… something he saw in the corner of his eye but refused to look at. Starks and love don’t mix. He already loves Pepper, and he loves Rhodey and Happy as family. His heart is far too crowded already to fit another. 

 

“Don’t,” he warns. He can’t think about this. 

 

“You loved him,” Pepper pushes. “And now you miss him. It’s okay.” 

 

He won’t look at her, so she holds his face. He flinches at the contact, but he finally looks at her face. Her expression is sympathetic. She’s always understood him better than anyone. 

 

“It’s okay,” she repeats, and maybe it’s the exhaustion, but he realizes in mortification that his eyes are watering. 

 

She moves her hand to the back of his head and pushes it down until his forehead is resting on her shoulder, then she wraps her arms around him. Slowly, he lifts his arms to loop around her waist. He closes his eyes and realizes how tired he is. 

 

“Come on,” Pepper whispers after a few minutes. “Let’s get you to bed… I’ll join you.” 

 

She pulls at his hands and leads him up the stairs into his bed. He doesn’t fight it at all, just lets himself be moved at her will. He obediently takes the clothes offered to him and changes into sweatpants and a tank top, then lets himself be pushed down onto the bed. After Pepper changes herself, she lays down and tucks herself next to him. He wraps an arm around her and looks down at her head on his chest. 

 

_ Pepper Potts. _ Somehow, she always knows what’s best for him even if he doesn’t know it himself. And in the comfortable silence of sharing a bed, he realizes just how much he loves and needs her. 

 

“Move in with me,” he says suddenly, and he doesn’t know why he says it but it feels right. This feels right, and he wants to have it all the time. He never wants to stop having moments like this. 

 

Pepper lifts her head at looks up at him. She looks shocked at first, but then she smiles. She leans forward and kisses him. 

 

“Sleep,” she says, but there’s laughter in her voice. 

 

“Is that a yes?” Tony asks. 

 

_ “Sleep,” _ Pepper repeats, more insistently this time, but her wide smile tells him that she means yes.  

 

—

 

Tony is okay. He really is. He’s finally admitted to himself that he misses Peter like hell, but he’s with his real family now, and that’s okay. As long as he’s happy, Tony can be happy for him. 

 

He hadn’t realized how much he relied on a routine with the kid to keep himself sane after the attack until he finds a stray toy in the house that they’d forgotten to pack up with the rest of Peter’s stuff and he has another panic attack in the middle of his goddamn living room. Once JARVIS talks him through it, he just feels annoyed. He doesn’t want to deal with these things, so he doesn’t. He doesn’t tell anyone about it and hides the toy in his room. 

 

Pepper moves in with him. Into the tower penthouse, not the New York mansion. Tony has been busy renovating it to be more of an Avengers headquarters rather than just Stark Tower, so they have less space to themselves, but he’s made sure to sanction off the top floor for just the two of them. 

 

Once it’s safe enough to move back there, Tony packs his bags and gets the hell out of the mansion. He’s relieved, to be honest. Now his memories of Peter haunt the place as well as the memory of his parents… the last place he saw them alive… 

 

Things are different now. Not only has his mindset and understanding of the world drastically changed in the past couple of weeks, which he’s still adjusting to (poorly), but he’s also now part of a super group of people trusted to handle it in case something bad happens again. And Tony has a sinking feeling it probably will. 

 

The Avengers dispersed, but he has a whole floor in the tower for each if them should they decide to come back. And his own floor—now also occupied by one Pepper Potts—still feels disappointingly empty. He should go back to Malibu soon. Pepper wants to go back. But something keeps him tethered to New York. Something he won’t let himself acknowledge out loud. 

 

At least, not until he gets a phone call. 

 

_ “Is this Tony Stark?” _ a hesitant female voice asks on the other end. 

 

“Is that who you were trying to reach?” Tony asks suspiciously, unsure who got their hands on his personal number. 

 

_ “I’m sorry, this is May. May Parker? Miss Potts gave me your number before we left.”  _

 

_ Parker. _ Tony’s mind short circuits. “Oh. Yes, I remember you.” 

 

_ “Sorry, I just… I hope I’m not bothering you, but Peter’s been nonstop asking for you for the past couple of weeks. I didn’t realize he’d gotten so attached to you in the week you had him, but he’s been really upset. He wants to see you again. I don’t want to put you out of your way, but I was just wondering…”  _

 

“He wants to see me?” Tony interrupts, his breath leaving him in a punch. 

 

_ “Yes, I think he’d really love to see you again. And if it’s not any trouble…”  _

 

“I can come right now,” Tony says, maybe too quickly. 

 

_ “Oh, um,”  _ May seems shocked.  _ “I’m actually at work now? I’m just on my break. You could come tonight…?”  _

 

“Of course,” Tony feels slightly embarrassed. He forgets sometimes that most people are slave to the nine-to-five work week. “Sorry. I can be there. What time would be good for you?” 

 

_ “Six thirty?” _ May suggests.  _ “I can cook something.”  _

 

“Sounds perfect,” Tony is already counting down the minutes. “I’ll be there.” 

 

_ “Oh, thank you so much,”  _ May sounds genuinely relieved.  _ “I wasn’t sure if you would be weirded out. Peter will be so happy.”  _

 

“Trust me,” Tony assures her. “You have no idea how happy  _ I _ am.” 

 

—

 

“So, you gave them my number?” 

 

Pepper smiles. “I knew you would want them to have it, but you’re way too stubborn to give it to them yourself.” 

 

“You know me too well,” Tony rolls his eyes, but he smiles back and kisses her more fiercely than he has in weeks. “Thank you.” 

 

—

 

The apartment building that the Parkers live in is cramped and falling apart. He highly doubts it’s up to code. The elevator doesn’t work and it smells like cigarette smoke in the lobby. He mentally takes note of everything he disapproves of. Pepper squeezes his elbow as he leads her to the door.

 

“This is it?” she asks. 

 

“This is it.” He knocks. 

 

Nothing can prepare him for the surreal moment when May opens the door, Peter on her hip, and the wide smile and shriek of excitement the kid makes when he sees Tony’s face. 

 

“Tony!” he shouts, and Tony’s heart melts and okay, he’ll admit it, he fucking loves the kid. 

 

When he reaches his arms out to him, Tony automatically shifts closer so the kid can latch on to him and he’s transferred from May’s arms to his. May laughs as Peter sticks his face into Tony’s neck and nuzzles into it. 

 

“I missed you, kid,” he says softly into his hair. 

 

“And he clearly missed you too,” May smiles. “Come in, you two.” 

 

They have dinner. May and Pepper get along like white on rice and Tony gets along with Ben. They’re good people. Peter is lucky. 

 

“He just adores you,” May says fondly after dinner, while Peter is clinging to Tony and excitedly showing him everything around the house. 

 

“That’s nice, Peter,” Tony smiles as Peter holds up a toy truck to him, then looks back at May. “What can I say? Kids love Iron Man.” 

 

“It’s more than that,” she says. “You’re good at this.”

 

That shocks Tony. He’s been called many things in his life, but  _ good with kids _ has never been one of them. 

 

“If you want to, we’d love to stay in touch with you,” May suggests. “If you see Peter every once in a while, I think it would mean a lot to him.” 

 

Tony will deny until the end of his days that his eyes water right there and then. “Of course. I’d come whenever you want me. I’ll watch him for you whenever you two are busy.  _ Pro bono. _ I swear, this kid is a gift by himself.” 

 

“You’re a good man, Tony,” Ben speaks up. “We’re so lucky you were the one who found Peter.” 

 

“I’m the lucky one,” Tony argues. 

 

Peter demands his attention again to show him another toy he really likes. The adults laugh and Peter is oblivious to the emotional charge in the room. 

 

“Thanks, buddy,” Tony says as Peter hands him the toy. But he means it more than Peter realizes. 

 

Before they leave, Tony gives Peter another hug. It feels less heartbreaking this time, knowing the goodbye isn’t permanent. He gives him a kiss on the top of his curly head for good measure. 

 

“Bye bye,” Peter says, and it doesn’t fill Tony with dread. 

 

“Bye, Pete,” he ruffles his curls. “I’ll see you soon. Love you.” 

 

“Love you,” Peter repeats, and Tony’s heart swells. 

 

—

 

**TWO YEARS LATER**

 

_ “Uncle Tony!”  _

 

Tony throws his arms wide when a little ball of enthusiasm runs toward him at full speed. He grunts when he slams into him and he lifts him up. 

 

“Ugh, why are you so heavy?” he moans. “You’re getting big on me. I won’t be able to carry you anymore soon.” 

 

Peter giggles. “Nooo, Uncle Tony. Don’t put me down!”

 

“I won’t,” Tony promises. “How was your first day of school?” 

 

“It was  _ awesome!”  _

 

Peter continues to regale him about the success of his first day of kindergarten—a milestone indeed—from getting a sticker for cleaning up when he was told to meeting a new kid named Ned who is his new best friend now, apparently. Tony straps him into his car seat and listens with rapt attention… something his father never did for him. 

 

“Wow, sounds pretty great if you ask me,” Tony says when he’s behind the steering wheel. “I can’t wait for your aunt and uncle to hear all about it too.” 

 

“When will they be home?” Peter asks. 

 

“At five thirty,” Tony responds. 

 

This is his new normal. Taking care of Peter while May and Ben are at work, and kicking ass as Iron Man in his down time. It’s been a bumpy road learning to balance both, but he’s made it work. 

 

No matter how much money he’s offered to throw at the Parkers, they won’t accept it. They like their cramped apartment in Queens, and they like Peter going to a public school where he can be a normal kid, despite him showing an incredible aptitude for the sciences. Maybe when he’s older, they’ll concede. But for now, Tony will respect their decision. 

 

Tony  _ does _ helps them pay rent and he buys everything Peter could possibly want. That’s where they draw the line. Peter’s five years old now, even though he can’t believe it, and he’s spent a solid two years showering the kid in gifts. Two years of exorbitant Christmases and birthdays that he tries to top over and over again. He’s determined to hold the title of cool uncle over Ben. 

 

Uncle Tony. As an only child, he never saw himself holding that title. But now that he has it, he can’t help but feel it fits perfectly. He’s an honorary Parker now, and that’s better than the Stark name in his opinion. 

 

When they get to the penthouse of the tower—Tony having moved there permanently since his house in Malibu kind of… blew up—Peter shouts a quick hello to JARVIS while running to the kitchen pantry. 

 

“Geez, slow down, I’m getting old here. I can’t keep up.” 

 

“You’re  _ Iron Man,” _ Peter laughs, pulling out a jar of gummy candy. “You can keep up with bad guys.” 

 

“You’re faster than the bad guys,” Tony complains. “And absolutely not, put that away. I can’t hand you back to your aunt and uncle on a sugar high.” 

 

Peter pouts. “Uncle Tony  _ pleeeeeeeease!”  _

 

Tony groans. He hates when Peter uses his impeccable persuasion skills on him. “Just one pack, Peter. Okay? And then real food.” 

 

“Yay!” Peter grabs some gummy worms and put the jar back in the cupboard. “Can we watch TV?” 

 

“You and your TV,” Tony rolls his eyes. “You’re gonna rot your brains out. What do you want to watch?” 

 

“Me and Uncle Ben have started watching Star Wars,” Peter smiles big. A few of his front teeth are missing. 

 

“Oh geez, initiating you young, is he?” Tony groans and heads into the living room, looking for the remote. “We’re not gonna watch a whole movie, but there’s a cartoon I think…” He flips through the options until he finds something. “Okay kid, settle in. Just one episode and then we can have some lab time.” 

 

_ “YES!” _ Peter shouts, jumping onto the couch right next to Tony. 

 

Lab time is his absolute favorite thing to do at Tony’s. He has a sectioned off part of his lab that’s kid friendly with fun projects at Peter’s level. Honestly, he spends a lot of time trying to think of harder and harder things for Peter to do because he’s learning so fast. The kid’s a genius. 

 

Peter snuggles close to him as he hits play. It’s comfortable and familiar, their time together. Tony smiles thinking of all the memories they’ve created so far, and all the time they have to create more. 

 

He never dared to consider this, never thought of it as something he could obtain, but he’s surprised at how easily it’s come to him. There have been bumps in the road—it’s not easy to balance being Iron Man and an uncle at the same time—but he thinks he’s handled it relatively well. Just like Iron Man, being an uncle has just become a part of him. You can take away everything from him, but he’ll always have this. 

 

He’ll always have Peter. 

 

After the show, Tony makes him dinner. They kill time by talking and laughing. Tony pulls out a coloring book for Peter—his place is now permanently stocked with kid’s toys for Peter. Peter can’t stay in the lines to save his life but to Tony, it looks like a masterpiece. 

 

He ironically bought an Avengers coloring book and Peter is coloring in a picture of Iron Man. It’s mostly just red scribbles all over the page, but Tony will be putting it on his fridge later. 

 

He loses track of time so much that he’s surprised when Jarvis informs him that the Parkers have arrived in the lobby. 

 

“Right on. Send ‘em up, buddy,” Tony says. 

 

Peter cheers and runs to the elevator to be there when the doors open. When they do, May and Ben are there with open arms. Peter jumps into them and immediately starts relaying all the same details about his day to them that he said to Tony. 

 

“Wow, champ, it sounds like you had a fantastic day,” Ben notes while May turns to smile at Tony. 

 

“I hope he was good today,” she says warmly. 

 

“He always is,” Tony says honestly. 

 

“We watched Star Wars!” Peter exclaimed. “Not the real one, the cartoon. Can we watch another movie tonight, Uncle Ben?” 

 

Ben laughed. “So he told you we’ve been watching them?” Tony nods. “He’s obsessed with them now, I’m afraid I just unleashed a monster.” 

 

Tony laughs. Peter continues talking about his day and May and Ben say a few more things to him before its time to go. He gives Peter a hug. He always misses him when he’s gone, but he’ll see him again tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. They’ve got a good routine going. Between himself, Pepper, and the Parkers, the kid has a whole entourage of people that care for him. He lost two parents, but he gained four more—plus acting uncles Rhodey and Happy. He’s lucky and he’s so, so loved. Tony hopes he always knows that. 

 

He watches Peter keep waving until the elevator door is shut. He’s alone in the apartment, but not for long. Pepper has been living with him for two years now, and she’ll be home later when she finishes up her work as CEO. Steve and Nat are currently a floor below him, maybe he’ll hang out with them until she gets back. He’s hardly ever alone now. He’s made a family for himself, and it’s better than he ever could have imagined when he lived with Howard. It’s not very traditional, but it’s his. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An ending and a mini epilogue! I hope you guys enjoyed this little story. I've wanted to write kid Peter for SO long and I finally did, so I can cross that off my fic list. And I really wanted to finish this story before Endgame, so yay! I have other fic ideas that I've already started writing... but depending on how Endgame goes, we'll see if I finish them. Don't screw this up for me, Russo Brothers... 
> 
> If you liked this, please comment and let me know! :)

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from the song "Light" by Sleeping At Last, which I feel is a very appropriate song for this fic.
> 
> Also, I'm fudging Peter's age for this fic. He's much younger than he would have been in canon during the battle for reasons... some plot related, but mostly because I just wanted to write a really little Peter.


End file.
